Monstrum Hominis
by CiscoTheSoto
Summary: Alucard, the most powerful vampire in history, is untested in might. Luke Valentine, Alhambra, Rip Van Winkle, and Alexander Anderson all fought toe-to-toe with this monster, and one by one, they all fell prey to Hellsing's lapdog. Suddenly, Alucard and Seras are transported to a world where monsters attack cities on a daily basis. But Alucard soon discovers a man above monsters...
1. God's Monster

_Hello! This was an idea that popped into my head a few days ago. I'd always thought of it, but I never really considered going through with it until now. Imagine the great monster Alucard, plunged into a world where monsters are popping up on a daily basis, and an ASSOCIATION is created to stop them! For the most part, this is gonna show events from the anime, with some slight changes, but it's setting the mood for what's about to come. This is my 2nd OPM crossover, and I hope you enjoy it as much as my first. Well, that's what you're going to find out with this all-new fanfic! So, without further ado, here is Chapter 1!_

* * *

The chamber was quiet. A huge spiral staircase was covered with some sort of green slime or binding glue that was spread all over. On the walls of this staircase, several pipes and metal sheets were stuck to the walls of the staircase, and a ladder led down maybe 10 floors until it reached the base of this building. At the bottom of this foundation, a monster with a single eye and multiple smaller arms was sitting alone at a round table. On this bottom base, the structure had boney, gothic statues and designs all around. Torches were spread all across the room, and several ledges and balconies were erected, clearly meant for a very large crowd.

Sitting in the center of this monumental coliseum, was a monster of immense size. Standing at around 20 to 30 meters tall, the monster had several large spikes pointing upwards above his head. His skin was cracked, with empty eyes, and had several rows of pointed teeth inside his mouth. His claws were about as large as katanas, but 10 times thicker. On his shoulders, wrists, legs, and fingers, there were several monstrous snake heads with more pointed teeth. On his knees, there were large snake skulls, and for his overall clothing, there was a single cape that was connected to a circular, scaly joint in the center of his chest and a piece of cloth on his lap.

"Gyoro, how goes your work?"

The much smaller, one-eyed monster looked up to the hulking monster. "Master Orochi, I believe I have been successful in my efforts. So far, I have recruited 15 wolf-level monsters, 8 tiger-level monsters, 3 demon-level monsters, and 1 dragon-level monster."

Orohi slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne, causing Gyoro to jump in his seat. "That's barely enough to take out even a single S-class hero, much less the entire Hero Association!" Orochi's booming voice echoed throughout the coliseum.

Gyoro struggled to regain his voice. "Yes. Well um, you see, most of the monsters have been uncooperative, and since I can only control 10 spy drones at a time, it's difficult for me to search from multiple areas. Have you finished creating your monster cells?"

Orochi shook his head. "It will take my body at least a few weeks to finish creating the monster cells. You need to become more effective in the monster recruitmen if our plans are to succeed."

"Did I forget to mention the other news?"

"No. Don't sugarcoat it, Gyoro."

"Of course. Ranissam!"

Footsteps came from the corridor. Coming from behind Gyoro Gyoro, a creature in a black hooded cloak came walking in. Although his face nor body was visible, Orohi could see his fingers were shriveled, thin, and old. In fact, they almost looked... wooden. The mysterious being lifted the hood off of his head and revealed his face: his entire face was a flat circular surface. His eyes were replaced by two clocks, and his mouth was just a thin line.

"Who is this?"

"This is Ranissam. He is a wolf-level mysterious being. You might be asking to yourself why such a frail mysterious being like this would be an asset to the Monster Association. Well, you see, he has an ability that even with my psychic powers, I do not possess. He can see into other realities."

"Oh? And exactly how is that going to help us?"

It was Ranissam who spoke. "Master Orochi, is it? Well, through my delving into other realities, I have found a monster of such immense strength that even you will be impressed."

Ranissam rose his hands and up into the air and fired a projection. On the projection screen revealed an ongoing pistol duel between two creatures. "These are vampires. In this reality, vampires stalk in the shadows of the night, and very few are even aware of their existence. This is merely a flashback. On the left, the vampire goes by the name Luke Valentine, and on the right is the one I was talking about: Alucard. Just watch, and you will see what I mean."

Orochi did as Ranissam suggested, and watched this ongoing duel. It perplexed him that Alucard was not even trying to dodge and just stayed in his seat. He thought Alucard was done for, and his confidence had been his downfall like several other monsters. However, he was wrong. The markings on Alucard's gloves started to glow, and his entire body became black and covered with eyes. Then, in an unexpected twist, Alucard's body fell to pieces, and several specter hellhounds burst out of his chest. Luke ran like a coward, and Alucard suddenly reappeared from the mass of black matter and shot Luke's legs off. A dialogue went on, but Alucard quickly finished it and sent his dogs to eat their treat. Several more battles like these went on, with combatants that had formidable weaponry, strength, speed, and regeneration, and yet Alucard bested all of them with the dominance, bloodlust, and glee expected of a monster.

But his interest peaked when he saw Alucard summoning a horde of hundreds, maybe thousands of undead humans. It was as if they were huge tidal waves, crashing over all of his opponents and drowning them in this ocean of death. It was... unreal.

"I see what you mean. Alucard would make a very useful addition to the Monster Association."

"Quite. And he's not the only one; there are several more like him in that dimension with powers just as unique as his," said Ranissam.

"And with such a lust for battle, it's basically guaranteed he will join us," added Gyoro Gyoro.

"I see. Very well. Alucard will bring us one step closer to completing our plans."

Gyoro Gyoro nodded. "Yes. Soon, we will begin our assault on the humans and kill them once and for all."

* * *

500 years ago, he held back the Ottoman Empire. 100 years ago, he paralyzed London. And today, his ghostly shadow casts itself over the ruins of the city that was once London for the battle against dark and light.

His opponent, Alexander Anderson, was the warrior, the knight in shining armor he had been waiting for so long to challenge him, the dragon in the keep. All the desperate, pathetic pigs: Luke Valentine, Tublacain Alahambra, Rip Van Winkle, and the hundreds of undead Nazi vampires who had sacrificed their humanity for power and eternal youth, they were simply dogs. Well, one was dog shit, but the rest were just a smidge above him. No, there were only a few humans who stood out from the masses, those few who had the bravery, the determination, and the willpower to stand up to monsters like himself. They were the humans that he truly envied, because in the face of death, they would never abandon their humanity in exchange for their lives. No, they would fight until the day hell froze over.

"What will you do now? Your dragon stands before you, Catholic. You plan to slay me, is that correct? How likely are your chances of survival? One in a hundred? A thousand? A million? No, maybe a billion stands to reason."

"Your taunts mean nothing to me. I am prepared to slay you even if the odds are one in a trillion."

"Oh, and how do you plan to do that? You're bruised and bleeding; your arm is hanging by a few threads of meat. How are you going to win? Will you die like a dog of the Church? Or on your feet like a man?"

"You think that something like a torn arm will pare my unwavering loyalty to God? Now silence! And attack me! Hurry! Hurry!"

Alucard smiled. "Excellent. Humans are such fascinating creatures." Hundreds of thousands of his familiars took form, creating a distant barrier between the dragon and the knight.

With the passion of god flowing through him, Anderson charged through the gates of hell, his bayonets sharpened for battle. As soon as Anderson began his assault, the familiars began dropping like flies. The progress he was making in such a short period of time became palpable; it was like his bayonets were a lawnmower, and the familiars were merely grass being cut down by the blades of God. Blood, guts, and bayonets were flying through the air as Anderson made his way through the horde of undead familiars. "Exploding Chain!" From Anderson's coat wrist came a series of long chains that latched themselves onto the heads of the familiars, burning them alongside any familiars next to them in a fiery explosion.

"More! MORE! MORE!" Anderson's fury and determination only grew as each bayonet pared these undead monstrosities. Now swinging with both hands, Anderson hacked and slashed at all of the familiars, watching their lifeless bodies falling to the ground and being crushed under the weight of his body. Anderson stabbed his bayonet and sent it plunging through the head of the next familiar that stood in his way. But for the first time, it wasn't enough to bring the monster down; with Anderson's hand still gripped on his bayonet, he could do nothing to protect himself as the strong familiar grabbed his arm. Anderson let out a moan of pain. But then, his ears picked up the sounds of clopping and metal clanging. He looked behind the familiar, and noticed an armada of knights with lances charging toward him, their eyes red and full of blood.

'Is this how I die? What a disappointing death. Forgive me, God.' Anderson grimly braced for the dozens of javelins about to stab themselves into his chest, when out of nowhere, a shower of bullets were shot from behind him, quickly sending the knights in the front of the armada to their permanent deaths.

Anderson clenched his teeth. There was only one person it could be. "Damn it! I ordered you to return to the Vatican! You stupid fools!" Heinkel, whose guns were still releasing smoke from her fired rounds, spit her cigarette out of her mouth and shouted back to her superior, "And what did you expect us to do? Just pack up our things and go back to the Vatican like a bunch of cowards?! If we did that, none of us could call ourselves soldiers of Iscariot!"

""By the cry "Amen" and the slaughter of the unworthy, the world slip it back into place."" The familiar who had Anderson locked in a death grip quickly had his eyes sliced off of his body, and standing behind him, Anderson's faithful disciple, Yumie, stood with her katana unsheathed. "Those are the words that you taught us to live by every day of our lives! Do you think we would abandon your teachings and our beliefs? You are the fool, Father Anderson."

"You imbeciles! All I wanted was for the legacy of the Catholic Church to live on! To have the Pope be protected by the soldiers of God! Too many of us have gone to Limbo this day." Anderson turned his head back to the army of familiars. "But since I'm charging full-speed into hell, I believe some company wouldn't hurt. I guess we're going to do this together, then."

At his words, dozens of the soldiers of Iscariot lined up behind Father Anderson, ready to rally under their leader.

"Let us tell them who we are!"

"WE ARE THE SOLDIERS OF ISCARIOT! WE ARE JUDAS ISCARIOT!"

"CHARGE!"

With an army of their own to match this army of the dead, the lost souls were mowed down with an even quicker speed than before. Dozens by dozens, these zombies were slain by the soldiers of Iscariot, but as every dozen were killed, one hundred more came to take their place.

While the men of god were fighting through the army, a javelin pierced through the throat of one of the Iscariot soldiers. Blood began spilling out of his throat, and the soldier didn't need a doctor to know he wouldn't make it. There was only one thing he could do now. "T'ill Death!"

Hienkel stopped in her tracks when she heard those words. She turned back and gasped. "NO!" The soldier's jacket was unzipped, revealing a huge set of explosives strapped to his chest, with the cross hanging just over it. "Go to hell, you beasts!" The soldier pulled the cord, and his body was burned beyond recognition in his tragic yet successful suicide, with hundreds of familiars joining him in the flames. These explosions quickly began to increase, as the members of Iscariot were being outnumbered by the monumental numbers of Alucard's familiars.

But all of those deaths had not been in vain; with a final slash, Anderson leaped past the final familiar through a cloud of smoke. When he landed with a thud, a line of smoke came out of Anderson's mouth. Alucard stood on the rubble, standing above on the perch like a predator watching over his prey.

"You stand before me. I'm impressed, Iscariot. Show me more." Alucard took out his guns and smiled. "SHOW ME MORE, ALEXANDER ANDERSON!"

Alucard prepared for an attack, but instead, Anderson took a strange box out of the inner pocket of his trench coat. "You are not the only one who carries a mighty weapon, monster."

"Oh? Is this the toy that will defeat me?" asked Alucard, smiling with utmost confidence. Anderson said nothing, and broke the box with his hand. Alucard's smile instantly faltered; his nostrils became filled with the scent of something... holy. "A nail?" The realization of what this object really was struck him, and he frowned. "The Shroud of Turin, the Holy Grail, the Lance of Longinus... Should I assume that you're threatening me with the last of the holy artifacts of Rome?"

"Oh yes..."

"It smells of ancient blood and miracle... The Nail of Helena..."

To Alucard's shock, instead of pouncing at him with the nail, Anderson turned the point of the nail to his heart. "PREPARE YOURSELF, ALUCARD!"

Alucard's eyes widened, and his face twisted in shock and anger. "What do you think you're doing?! ANDERSON, STOP IT! Do you have any idea what that nail will do to you? It will distort your very body and soul; it will turn you into one of God's monsters! Maintain your humanity! Don't succumb to power! Either side, it amounts to the same deal. Whether in the name of the divine or the demonic, you're still a monster in the end! Do you intend to use that scrap of miracle to become nothing more than a scrap of miracle yourself? This duel between us... Would you really push it this far? Into the borders that lie beyond humanity? A lowly creature such as myself, a pathetic shell of a man who couldn't even bear the weight of his human life, who chose to become a demonic monster and abandon everything I believed in for survival. If a monster such am myself is to be defeated, it must be by a man and a man alone! Not a dog or a monster, it must be a man with the bravery of one thousand knights."

Alucard's face twisted back into regular shape, and his eyes softened. Anderson almost stuttered back by what he saw in this vampires eyes: plea.

From the spectating field outside of the battle, Seras Victoria and Sir Integra were watching this duel with seriousness and concern. But more importantly, Seras, along with Father Anderson, was unnerved by the look in her master's eyes. Never had she seen him with any sort of emotion, any sort of sadness in his eyes.

"Don't do it, human. Don't become a monster. A monster like me."

Anderson slightly dropped his arm in hesitance, but his face still remained a stone wall. "I want nothing more than to be a weapon of divine punishment and judgement. A weapon wielded by the Lord Almighty to conduct his heavenly work down below his glorious kingdom. I would have loved to be born as a natural disaster, a storm, a mighty hurricane created by God. Without pity, without regret, and without emotion. And if this relic in my hand can transform me into such a thing, then I, Alexander Anderson, will happily throw away my humanity in the name of God."

With all of the passion, fury, and love for god flowing through him, Anderson screamed and stabbed the Nail of Helena straight into his heart. Alucard flinched when he heard the sound of the nail piercing through his chest.

Only drops of blood dripped out of wound. From the nail, thorns began to grow, spreading throughout the former human's body and infecting him with its holy power. He did it. Alexander Anderson had actually abandoned his humanity, making the same fateful mistake Alucard once made 500 years ago in a time long forgotten; once God's assassin, the bayonet priest had turned himself into the Monster of God, a demon of holiness.

Alucard was clenching his teeth so hard they could break from the pressure building. "You fool..." Alucard began walking from his spot on the ledge toward Anderson until he was standing directly over the crouched priest. Letting his rage take command of him, Alucard pointed his pistol straight for Anderson's head.

"YOU BLOODY FOOL!" But before he could pull the trigger, his arm and his head were sliced off from his body by Anderson's bayonet. But such wounds were trivial for a vampire like himself; Alucard fired his Jackal, which ripped off the right side of Anderson's face, and broke his spectacles in the process. Blood was pouring out of both of them like water fountains.

Both monsters staggered back from the blows. On one side, the demonic matter of the familiars regenerated the vampire's body, and on the other side, the thorns of the Nail of Helena were reforming Anderson's splintered face.

"It's thorns... All thorns..." said Yumie in a state of bewilderment at what had happened to her teacher.

Alongside her, Heinkel was just as shocked as she was. "Anderson, what in God's name have you done to yourself?"

Alucard watched Anderson's regeneration with pure rage. "His body is no longer that of a human. The only way either of us will return to dust is if we have it gouged out of us: the sickness in our hearts."

* * *

Destruction, chaos, and bereaved citizens were running rampant through a city in a land far, far away. In City A, one of 26 cities on this planet with four orbiting moons, a monster was wreaking havoc, destroying buildings, massacring men, women, and children, and defeating all of the foolish humans who dared challenge his divine power.

For flying in the sky, a monster of purple skin and two large antennae on his head was destroying all of City A with powerful energy balls and blasts of lightning he conjured in seconds.

Dozens of blocks away, the headquarters of the Hero Association was attempting to assess the threat level of this new monster that was attacking A-city.

"How many heroes have been deployed?!"

"Lightning Max and Smiley Man were sent, but it appears that they've been taken out!"

"Give me an assessment of the threat level stat!"

Lightning Max and Smiley Man were knocked out, lying on the ground with bruises and dirt all over their bodies. A few meters away, Vaccine Man was walking with a calm stride. He formed another lightning bolt, and destroyed all of the adjacent buildings with the blast.

"As you can see, the devastation of these explosions is truly dramatic!" A news team was risking their lives attempting to get this destruction on footage for the public's view. "With a monster of such unprecedented strength, the Hero Association is analyzing the threat level in order to properly-"

Those were his last words before the transmission was abruptly cut off, leaving static in it's place. But what those newscasters didn't know was that a certain bald-headed man was watching this broadcast, and he'd just realized that this was a tad bit more than the noobish heroes could handle.

"I guess I'll go."

* * *

The battle between the monsters of heaven and hell raged on, and Father Anderson was only getting stronger as he adapted to his new body.

"What has he become, Master Integra?" asked Seras.

Integra stood with a serious gaze. "He has become neither a man, nor a demon. He is neither day, nor night. He is just a monster, nothing more, and nothing less."

Father Anderson jumped up into the air, and from his body expanded more and more vines until a cross was formed behind him, with Anderson at the center.

Alucard aimed his Jackal at Anderson, but it was too late. Anderson's bayonet fired at speeds even faster than Alucard's reflexes could anticipate. The bayonet cracked through his skull and into his brain. Now enchanted with the magic of the Nail of Helena, from the bayonet grew more thorns, spreading into Alucard's brain and through his chest.

Alucard's familiars suddenly burst into flames; with their master's life force draining and the pyro-kinetic abilities gained through the nail, Alucard's familiars finally returned to the dust from which they came. The flames spread and enveloped Alucard, weakening him and scorching all of his organs. The vampires eyes were slowly closing. Death was closing in on him.

"MASTER!"

* * *

"Mommy! Daddy!" The cries of an anguished and bereaved little girl were filling the ravaged city. No heroes were there to help her; her parents were gone, her home was destroyed, and she was all alone.

Her grief was so great, that she was completely unaware of the very monster that caused all this destruction walking right behind her. The monster stood above the poor girl, observing her agony up-close.

"Hahaha..." The monster reached out to the girl, mutated his arm by adding spikes and increasing it in size, and squeezed the life out of the girl. Well, at least, that's what he thought. But when he looked into his hand, there was nothing. "Hmm?" The monster turned and realized that a newcomer, a bald man with a fluttering white cape, had the girl safely nestled in his arms.

The creature lifted his head up and stared. "You're a slippery little bastard. Who are you?"

The bald man smirked. "Just a guy who'se a hero for the fun of it. The name's Saitama."

The purple monster scoffed. "Are you serious? What kind of half-assed story is that? Mine is far superior! I am Vaccine Man!

"The Earth is a single living organism, full of complex life and beautiful nature. Human's are a filthy disease, destroying everything they see, eating away at Earth's precious life force little-by-little." As he spoke, his entire body began to mutate. His body began to increase in size, the spikes on his arm spread so they were all over his body, his teeth became elongated, and his eyes went from white to blood red. "In order to wipe away the sickness of this planet, the Earth and her infinite wisdom has given birth to me! You say you do this for fun? FOR FUN?! How dare you confront Mother Earth's apostle for such a ludicrous reason!"

Vaccine Man was now 18 meters in height. He now had four arms, and his claws and fangs were now the size of swords. "Behold the power of the Earth Almighty! Now prepare yourself to join Mother Earth deep below!"

* * *

"MASTER!"

Seras Victoria quickly sprinted to his master's aid, for she knew he was in mortal danger. The female vampire grabbed Anderson's bayonet, her red eyes burning with an even brighter shade of maroon with the anger and worry for her master burning even brighter in her vampiric soul. "MASTER!"

Seras whimpered when she felt cold vines beginning to wrap around her forearm and crept around her neck. But that feeling of cold quickly faded away, for now her entire arm was doused in Anderson's flames. Seras wailed as the flames spread across her skin.

"Master! MASTER!"

"Stop your yelling, Police Girl!" Seras' eyes widened, and her mouth was agape. "Master?"

"Your awful ruckus is splintering my ears! Why must you always insist on such dramatic shouting? You'll wake the dead at this rate..."

The female vampire could do nothing but smile at her master. "My Master..."

Anderson gritted his teeth in rage. How could he recover from his attack like that? Alucard's arm began to regenerate, with a trail of dark matter spewing from it. He placed his hand on Anderson's.

"Alexander Anderson! There was a moment in which you had the opportunity to slay me! You had your chance, and you wasted it. I would have let you tear my heart out of my very body, but now that you have become an abomination of God, I will not allow you to defeat me!" The bayonet snapped in half, and the vines wrapped around Alucard rapidly tore off. Alucard's entire body was now a fluid, red mass of dark matter in the shape of a man, his gloves being the only parts of him not covered in this matter.

"Only a human could dare hope slay a monster!"

The symbols on Alucard's gloves began to glow bright red. Alucard finally took on a tangible form, but unlike his regular form, his red cravat and red flock overcoat were gone, leaving only his dark charcoal suit as his last pieces of garments.

Alucard crossed his hands so both were perpendicular, and the symbols glowed bright red once again. "RWAHHHH!"

* * *

"Now prepare yourself to join Mother Earth deep below!" Vaccine Man launched himself at Saitama with his teeth bared and his claws unsheathed. "This is the price you pay for confronting Mother Earth's Apostle for such a trivial and minute reason! But that's to be expected from a filthy hu-" Those were Vaccine Man's last words before he was utterly obliterated by a single, lackadaisical punch from Saitama, sending hundreds of liters of green blood and bits of brains flying everywhere, the green intestines and chunks of purple organs and bits of his skin spilling all over A-city.

* * *

Alucard dashed for an attack on Anderson; the bayonet priest retaliated by launching a stream of vines. But Alucard's new form wasn't just for show; Alucard was able to expertly outmaneuver all of his attacks with ease. No matter how many vines took the place of the pared vines, Alucard continued to dodge and slash them away. It was already too late for Anderson.

With a tremendous thrust of his hand, Alucard plunged his fingers through Anderson's body and grabbed the monster's heart, the nail still stabbed in its center. In a desperate attempt for survival, the vines enwrapped themselves around the heart, but it was fruitless. Alucard ripped the heart from Anderson's body with all his might. The vines were stained with blood, and Anderson's entire body became pale white, with his lower legs being severed from the rest of him.

Alucard stared at the heart of his enemy. He snarled, and crushed it in the palm of his hand, sending even more of his enemy's blood spilling all around him.

Seras gasped in shock and awe.

"All it took was one attack..."

* * *

"All it took was one punch... Not again..."

Saitama clenched his fists and yelled up to the heavens. "DAMN IT!"

* * *

The battleground was silent. Alucard was staring down at his fallen nemesis. The wind whipped at Alucard's hair, sending it fluttering through the air. Anderson, the Bayonet Priest, the trump card of Iscariot and one of the only warriors who ever posed a threat to him, was finally defeated. But Alucard was none too pleased. Not in the slightest.

"YOU AND I ARE THE SAME!"

Gasps spread through the spectators like wildfire, except for Integra, who quietly took out another cigar and put it in her mouth. Alucard dropped down to his knees like a defeated soul, placing his hands on his face as he could not bear to stand another brave soul burdened with the weight of this monstrous body. "You are me! I was just the same! Don't you understand that this is how I became what I am?!"

What Alucard did next was something that Seras thought she would never see in her now immortal lifetime: her master, Vlad the Impaler, the Vampire King, the monster that consumed his opponents, his soldiers, and his subjects, was sobbing on the ground, covering his eyes with his hands, and tears of blood running down his cheeks.

Suddenly, soft laughter filled the air, causing Alucard to look up from his palms. "Demons do not cry. Are those the tears of a long dead child?" The bayonet priest had not yet perished, and he still had the strength to muster up a voice. "Demons do not cry. You became a demon because you could no longer cry. Humans cry, and when their tears finally run dry, they become nothing. Just a pale shadow, a demon or a monster, and one final prayer for death. So laugh demon. Laugh that arrogant, condescending laugh of yours, but just know that today, I beat you to it."

Alucard was now standing up, his frown disappearing as he opened his ears and his very soul to his adversary. "Farewell, my nemesis. I'll see you at the gates of hell."

Anderson, or what still remained of Anderson, grinned. The peak of dawn was beginning to rise just above the horizon, shining it's holy light onto Anderson. The bayonet priest reached his hand out to the stars as his soul began to slip into eternal rest. "I can hear them. The voices of the children. I can hear them. I should... I should go. They're waiting for me; is that... is that really you, Maxwell?" The soldiers of Iscariot were on their knees, their eyes watery in the face of their superior's tragic demise.

"Don't cry, children. Say your prayers before you sleep. Amen, children." These were the last, stirring words of God's Assassin before the last of his mummified remains were carried off into the wind. God's assassin had finally rejoined his holy contractor.

Alucard gave one last look at the remains of Alexander Anderson, and smirked in respect of his ultimate adversary.

"Amen."

But in the spur of this deep moment, an unknown intruder stepped on the head of Anderson, defiling his final remains. A flurry of glowing blue wires were then spread throughout the desolate streets, slicing through the stone buildings like it was cutting through paper. The buildings quickly tumbled down like a Jenga tower, creating dust clouds around the base of the city.

The dust quickly began to clear, but what it revealed was something despicable. Integra's mouth dropped open, causing her cigar to fall onto the ground; Seras gasped, and Alucard's eyes slightly widened. The man who was controlling these blue wires was a man with jet black hair who appeared like he was in his thirties. He wore the attire of a butler, and on the bridge of his nose was a monocle, covering his right eye. The three Hellsing members recognized this man instantly.

"Walter, is that you?!"

* * *

The sun had set. The flourescent light was shining brightly in the rinkydink market store. Walking out with a plastic grocery bag in his hand was the hero named Saitama. He'd just finished pounding that purple antenna monster, and a few hours later, he killed another gargantuan monster that was as tall as a mountain with only a single punch. What a day.

But something kept nagging at Saitama's conscious. Every day since he gained this unimaginable strength, he felt his emotions growing more and more distant from him. Everything he once felt: sadness, happiness, passion, they were all gone. It was as if in exchange for power, he lost an essential part of himself.

Just a few feet away, some really big monster or something was tearing up a car parked on the sidewalk. The monster noticed Saitama's presence, and immediately walked up to him. This monster stood about 3 meters tall, with the body of a car, the spot where his privates and his pooper would be replaced by license plates.

"I'm Super Custom YO649Z Mk. II! I love building cars. In fact, I got so hooked on cars that I decked myself up, and became a mon-". Saitama simply listened to this boring monologue while he continued to lament about his tedious feelings of boredom. In battle, he used to have all sorts of intense feelings coursing through him: anger, dread, passion.

"-, and if you were thinking of getting in my way, I'll put spin sign on that big headlight of yours-". That insulting comment got his entire upper body crushed and sent him driving on Interstate 666 straight to hell.

'But now all it takes is one punch for me to win...' thought Saitama

Every day, Saitama came home uninjured and washed his gloves. I mean, Saitama only did the hero gig as a hobby, and as long as he got a kick out of it, it was good enough for him. But nowadays, it was just a tedious cycle that he longed to break.

* * *

"Come and face me, lapdog of Hellsing!"

The wind whipped through the sky and dust spread across the barren wasteland. But then, Alucard began chuckling, demeaning his once arguably best friend like he would any other enemy of Millennium.

"The Angel of Death. Weren't you the very man who said that Englishmen look forward to growing old? It seems in your childish desire to battle me, you've lost the maturity you gained through your many years of aging. This is quite a shame. You were such a lovely old man, and I thought you would die an honorable death of old age, but it pains me to see how truly ugly you've become. Your very body and soul has been corrupted, and whatever honorable traits you once had have now vanished into the wind, never to be seen again. A Grim Reaper to the very core."

"You're correct, Alucard. After all, this world is merely a violent, fleeting dream in the end. And as the dawn breaks, I, Walter C. Dornez, will stand, ready to reap the Earth. Now STAND AND FACE ME, ALUCARD!"

"Calm yourself, boy. You know full well we're both dogs, following the orders of our master." Alucard turned to his lord and master, bowing his head and bending to the ground on all fours. Walter, Alucard, and Seras all watched, each wondering when and if Integra would allow a battle between two of the four members of her Hellsing Organization to pass.

"Say the words!" shouted Walter.

The tip of Integra's cigar fell onto the ground as Integra swept her arm across the air. "Search and Destroy! Search and Destroy! You have your orders! Nothings changed! Annihilate all forces that dare oppose us! Crush all obstacles that stand in your way and keep pushing forward, regardless of what it is! Regardless of WHO it is! Destroy... anyone in your way..." Integra's unreadable face slipped, and her servants could see the sadness in her eyes as she ordered her butler and her practical father figure to his death.

Alucard rose from the ground, his symbols glowing once again.

"Yes, my master."

Walter stared at Integra with sick pride in his eyes. "Excellent! Just perfect! You were a master worthy of my years of service!"

Integra gave her former butler a cold stare with her teeth bared in response. "How you became this, I do not care anymore. You are nothing to me now but my enemy. Hellsing's enemy! You're a traitor to your master and to your country, and I find ectasy in watching your demise!"

"Well said, Integra Hellsing!" A loudspeaker blard to life above the air, as Millennium's Zeppelin floated in the sky. "To think I called you an amateur. It appears I owe you an apology. At last, you have become worthy of this battle! You have finally become my absolute, my lovely, my enormously dangerous archenemy who I will crush to a bloody pulp at all costs!" The Zeppelin came landing down to the ground, flattening all of the remaining stone statues and buildings into paper. From the front of the Zeppelin, the opening panel extended out and onto the ground, inviting whomever desired to enter the formidable fortress of Millennium. "Now come. I call your bet."

The atmosphere became intense. A wave of pressure came and wrapped itself around everyone in it's vicinity. Alucard, Walter, and Seras began to look around in confusion, wondering what was causing this. Could it be Millennium?

Unknown to them, in the Zeppelin, the Captain touched the shoulder of the Major and the Doctor to see if they were feeling this pressure too. "Major, what is going on?"

"Peculiar. Perhaps some supernatural force has gathered around us that we are unaware of."

Then, a bright light began to envelop the Captain. The Major and the Doctor looked at the Captain with confused looks. Who was doing this?

The two looked at the monitors outside, and they saw Alucard, Walter, and Seras were being enveloped by this mysterious light as well.

"Master, what is happening?" shouted Seras.

"I don't know, police girl! Stay on guard!"

"Alucard, stay focused and-" Integra's sentence was cut off; in the blink of an eye, all three of them vanished with a pop.

"Alucard? Seras? Walter?" Integra's heart constricted.

"What just happened?"

* * *

 _That's a wrap, folks!_

 _For those unfamiliar with Hellsing Ultimate, and are only here because of OPM, let me give you a rundown of all the characters:_

 _Alucard- An overpowered, fuck mothering vampire_

 _Seras Victoria- Alucard's policegirl and servant and the only one who's actually sweet or relatable_

 _Integra- Alucard's master and a person who you can never get a read on_

 _Walter- Integra's faithful butler_

 _The Major- A Nazi who loves war_

 _The Doctor- The Major's "friend" and a guy who spent most of his life finding ways to make humans into vampires._

 _Anderson- The only opponent Alucard shows any respect towards_

 _There's a TFS Abridged version of this series, and I'll try to mix some of those personalities in there, but it won't be that often._

 _And to Dual Binoculars, the fanfictioner that was the VERY first to favorite both The Space Emperor's Besiege and Monstrum Hominis, I thank you very much :D :D_

 _Until Chapter 2, where we finds out what happened to the monsters of the Hellsing Universe!_


	2. Play Dead

The three monsters were waiting in anticipation. Ranissam began his ritual to summon the fierce and deadly warriors from this other dimension. Orochi took note of the fighter who called himself Walter C. Dornez, and his wires which could slice through entire skyscrapers with relative ease. Even more impressive, another warrior who was stood on the righthand side of a pudgy but undeniably brilliant mastermind, was able to perfectly intercept Walter's wires, leaving him with only bloody fingers. Their abilities would be very useful in taking out even the strongest and most troublesome S-class heroes.

Gyoro Gyoro intently observed his master, detecting facial expressions of even the slightest sign of approval of Orochi. While Gyoro Gyoro was the one responsible for stimulating such a growth of power within Orochi, it still had to be careful not to make him too angry, for it knew that Orochi had become stronger than it. Once time had passed and Orochi continued to watch previous fights in this dimension, Gyoro Gyoro began to relax. From what he and his master were both seeing, these fighters certainly showed at least SOME merit, greatly surpassing any tiger-level monsters at MINIMUM. Gyoro Gyoro was safe. For now, at least.

Ranissam's hands grew a bright blue as he chanted his magical incantations.

"I CALL FORTH ON THIS DAY THE MONSTERS OF THE VAMPIRIC REALM!" boomed Ranissam, "THE ANGEL OF DEATH, WALTER C. DORNEZ! THE SOLDIER OF HELLSING, SERAS VICTORIA! MILLENNIUM'S TRUMP CARD, THE CAPTAIN! AND FINALLY, THE ULTIMATE VAMPIRE! VLAD THE IMPALER, THE NO LIFE KING, THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS, THE NIGHTWALKER, THE BIRD OF HERMES: I SUMMON THE VAMPIRE, ALUCARD! NOW ENTER INTO THE WORLD OF MONSTERS, AND SERVE AS MEMBERS OF THE MONSTER ASSOCIATION!"

His hands burned an even brighter blue, and the projection shone as white as the surface of the sun. The room began to build an enormous sense of pressure; the very fabric of space and time became twisted and distorted, the monster's natural senses and their very minds became topsy turvy, unable to comprehend how devastatingly powerful the fabrication of reality was being twisted.

Eventually, however, this feeling of perplexity and loss of state of mind began to fade, the bright light at the center of the room beginning to wane, soon reduced to nothingness as the large chamber became quiet with apprehension.

"Did it work?" asked King Orochi.

"Yes. That feeling of disorientation and pressure was enough proof of it."

"So then where are they?" asked Gyoro Gyoro.

Ranissam's brows raised up, and he felt his heart drop to the floor. "Wait, what?"

Standing in the center of the coliseum was... nothing. None of the four fighters were to be seen. The three monsters turned their heads and looked around to see if they were simply hidden or knocked unconscious, but they could see none of them.

"I can't sense any new life forces in the lair," said Gyoro Gyoro, "It appears that you were unsuccessful." Gyoro Gyoro's multiple eyes narrowed at Ranissam, with Orochi following suit.

"Ranissam, explain." The aggravation in Orochi's voice was palpable, causing the monster to gulp in terror.

Ranissam cleared his throat and tried to make sense of this to Gyoro Gyoro and Orochi. "Well um... I've never actually transported organic beings or physical objects from one plain of existence to another, so I'm unaware of its side effects or how much energy it requires. So... it's possible that I merely..." Tranissam struggled to get the last portion out, and said in a soft, terrified voice, "I merely transported them into our world, but not to this specific place."

Orochi's eyes hardened, and the two monsters noticed the armrests on his throne began to shake with anger.

Rannisam felt like he was about pass out, but managed to regain control of himself at the last second. "But that is merely a minor setback!" assured Rannisam.

"Yes!" followed Gyoro Gyoro, who was attempting to take the positives from this and what they could still gain from them. "Once our plans are put into place, we'll be able to attack all of the human cities, which will surely catch their attention, and as soon as they hear of our Association, they'll come begging to join us. I guarantee it!"

Orochi's hard gaze softened to his regular, stoic demeanor, and the trembling of the armrests quickly halted. Orochi supposed there was nothing more to be done. They had more pressing matters to attend to. "Very well. But waste no further time and continue your search for more demon-level and dragon-level mysterious beings; they are key to our plans."

Gyoro Gyoro nodded. "Of course, King Orochi. Whatever you command."

* * *

The crack of dawn peeked through the window of Saitama's apartment. Inside the apartment, Saitama, the most powerful hero in all of humanity, was snoring, a snot bubble formed in his left nostril, growing and shrinking as he took every breath. On the telephone wires, birds chirped and flew in the sky as the new day began. Without warning, a great trembling shook the ground, causing the birds to fly away in fear.

Saitama's eyes fluttered open when he felt the tremors of some great force shaking his apartment room. The bald hero barely had enough time to register the huge hand which wrapped itself around his face. Saitama quickly pushed this hand away from him, but right behind him, another one of these things appeared. Saitama was sent hurtling through the wall of his apartment as this creature's fist met with his chest. Saitama managed to smoothly land on both of his feet once he landed on the paved concrete walkway.

The bald hero looked up at the assailant, and his mouth opened in shock when he saw the entire front of his house was demolished beyond nominal repair. "My house..."

But mourning wasn't an option, as behind him, another one of these creatures popped up. Swinging a right hook, Saitama turned around and put up his left elbow to defend himself from the fist that threatened to slam into his left side. But the force of the blow was too much, and Saitama was sent flying, crashing through yet more concrete pillars.

Saitama let out a small groan. Drops of blood were dripping from his forehead, and his clothes were now torn and smudged with dirt. The mystery creature collectedly strode over to Saitama. The bald hero looked up to see his attacker, and immediately he could tell this was no ordinary opponent. The first thought that crossed his mind was, 'He's tough.' The creature stood at around 2 to 3 meters tall. His physique was extremely buff, the lines of his well-built muscles clearly showing. His two eyes, no, four eyes, were a bright red, all setting their sights on the prey standing before them.

"Just what in the hell are you?" asked Saitama.

"What are we? That's rude." The creature's voice was low and husky, only adding to his very intimidating appearance. "We are the true earthlings."

"We? So there's more of you."

"I believe you humans call us Subterraneans. We live below the Earth's surface, and suffer from overpopulation. In order to survive, we have decided to take the world aboveground as well." Behind him, about 10 more Subterraneans emerged from the ground, huddling around their fellow brother and all hulking over Saitama. "Yet we have learned the surface world is overpopulated as well. This is a nuisance for us. So we have decided to eradicate all of you."

Saitama's eyes widened, and he let out a faint gasp. "What?!"

One of the other Subterraneans spoke up. "Since we began our invasion, over 70% of the surface dwellers have been wiped out." However, his next statement showed he had a small slimmer of mercy in his heart. "This is a battle for survival. I hope you can understand that."

The first Subterranean spoke up again. "However, this is unexpected. So far, we've encountered no fighters that our punches could not kill."

The bald hero felt a surge of defiance and passion spark in his heart. "Oh yea? Same here..." Saitama smirked; this could be the big break he was looking for. His fists tightened at the thought. "It's been too long since I've faced such worthy opponents, Mole-Men."

The Subterranean's eyes glowed a brighter red. "We are EARTHLINGS!" He punched Saitama, but Saitama ducked, and the creature only managed to hit the concrete pillar behind him. Saitama yelled with a rising voice, and counter-attacked with a mighty right jab. At first, nothing happened; the Subterranean and the hero were completely still. But then, the subterranean's insides burst out of his back. Gallons of blood and intestines spilled onto the fellow Subterraneans. The Subterraneans looked at their fallen comrade, and then at the blood on themselves, as if this was some sort of illusion.

"What?! But how?!"

"Human BASTARD!" The bald hero grinned. "DIE!" A subterranean clamped his fists together and slammed down to the ground, but Saitama leapt up and dodged it. Using the subterraneans as launching pads, Saitama propelled himself up and out of the building into the air, and landed on the road. Three subterraneans rushed to him, and as they each launched themselves at Saitama, the bald hero smoothly dodged all of their attacks. However, Saitama realized that he had himself cornered by all three of his opponents. All three of the subterraneans balled their fists together and smashed Saitama, to which Saitama blocked with his elbow. The force of the blow cut the road in half, and Saitama winced in pain. But from this pain, his eyes sparked.

'No more holding back.'

Saitama swept the feet of all three of the subterraneans, and with a vociferous and passionate shout, punched all three of them, sending them flying through the air.

More and more Subterraneans began flooding in to replace their fallen brothers, but each one of them was defeated with a single strike.

"Is that all you've got?!" shouted Saitama.

"Not even close!" Saitama turned around, only to be met with a huge fist that was bigger than he was hammering him. Saitama's body was sent crashing through the surrounding buildings. The sheer strength of the punch and the speed of which Saitama was hurled back caused a huge explosion, decimating any buildings in City Z that still remained standing in a scorching hot dome of flames and destruction. Standing in the epicenter of this dome of death, the subterraneans stood victorious, albeit not without shock at the strength they just witnessed. "It's over."

"Who was that surface dweller? He was so strong!"

"Who? Me?"

The subterraneans stood in disbelief; appearing on the flaming horizon, the filthy human was walking forward, with no signs of any damage besides his missing shirt. "I'm just a guy who's a hero for the fun of it! I never lose. And the surface-" Saitama put his fist to his chest and shouted, "Is guarded by me!"

The horde of subterraneans all jumped Saitama at once, while one of the subterraneans shouted, "BIG TALK FOR A RACE OF VERMIN!" Despite their superior numbers, all of the subterraneans that pounced on Saitama were blown away from the battlefield. Saitama leaped up, and punched one of the larger subterraneans, while he blocked the punch of another with his elbow. However, their size and superior strength made them unfazed by Saitama's normal punches, and Saitama had to intercept one of their punches with a swift dodge and a kick to his abdomen. Yet right behind him, the 2nd subterranean swung a powerful punch that managed to hit him square in his body.

Something clicked inside his brain. He felt... different. The bored, tedious weight that kept his spirit and his motivation down ever since he gained this immeasurable power was quickly beginning to fade with every attack he blocked and every punch he swung. The empty feeling that was gnawing at his heart was beginning to fill up. 'What is this feeling coming over me...' Saitama dwelled on his thoughts, all-the-while returning the courtesy punch with a punch of his own. 'This wild throbbing in my heart.'

The two giant subterraneans punched Saitama at the same time, causing the ground below them to shake and jump up from the shockwaves from the power of the joint strikes. 'This rush. This SENSATION!' Saitama kicked with both of his legs, sending the subterraneans into the ground face-first.

"It's been so long... I've forgotten... THE EXHILARATION OF A REAL FIGHT!"

Light rain began to drizzle down onto the barren and apocalyptic wasteland, dousing the fires that spread all over City Z. Accompanying the obliterated buildings were now hundreds, perhaps even thousands of dead bodies, and every single one of them had something in common: they all had a hole in their chest. Standing on top of a mound of the Subterranean corpses, the bald hero, Saitama, stood victorious. Yet for the first time, he was actually tired. His breathing was heavy, his hands felt sore from all of the punching, and in fact, his entire body felt dog tired; the light rain soothed his skin, and he held his tongue out to get a few drips of water. But per contra to his physical fatigue, his mind and his spirit had never felt more energized, more lively. The adrenaline was still pumping from his heart and all throughout his body.

'It's all... coming back to me now. This is it!'

"Well well!" Another great rumbling shook the earth under Saitama. 'Guess I woke up the mama,' thought Saitama. He turned, and sure enough, a final subterranean emerged from the ground in a blaze of blue fire, only this one was much different than the rest. He stood slightly taller than the biggest subterraneans; he had three eyes, with the third in the center of his head. He appeared to have some plated armor around him, and underneath it, there was some sort of intangible blue smoke. His voice was deep, thundering through the air. Yet for the piece de resistance, he had four hulking arms with four pillar-sized swords in his hands. This guy was the big kahuna, alright.

"It looks like you've been taking good care of my children, surface dweller!"

'This is it...'

"But lets see how you fare against the Subterranean King!"

Running as fast as he possibly could, Saitama went sprinting head-first for the ultimate opponent that was standing before him. 'This is the feeling... I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!'

* * *

Deafening sound came booming from Saitama's alarm clock, effectively breaking off the battle that was to take place between Saitama and the Subterranean King. It was 7:00; unfortunately, Saitama didn't bother checking the time before Saitama smashed it to oblivion. It took him a second for him to come back to reality, and once the realization everything he just went through was just a dream, he groaned in frustration.

"What a letdown..."

Out of nowhere, another loud explosion came from outside his apartment. After the explosion followed a very shrill and almost nerdy voice that shouted, "The surface is ours, humans! You surface-dwellers must die!"

Wait a second... Did he say surface-dwellers? Could it be them? Saitama went running out to the balcony of his apartment, and sure enough, the Subterranean King was standing just a few meters next to his apartment, but for whatever reason, he was about 10 times smaller than he was in his dream, and his subjects seemed like tiny shrimps. But hey, if they managed to put up a fight in his dream, then he saw no reason why they couldn't be as strong in the real world. So with blinding speed, Saitama rushed to change into his hero uniform, and jumped down to fight the mole-men.

"I am the subterranean king! Now prepare yourselves for-" The Subterranean King's sentence was cut off by a certain bald hero's foot in his forehead. The tiny subterranean subordinates were all shocked beyond belief.

"Alright! NOW BRING IT ON!"

Alas, nothing was going to be brought to Saitama but silence, disappointment and a white flag of resignation. "Wait, what?" Just great. ANOTHER letdown.

Saitama slapped his forehead. "Just great..."What a fantastic start to this day. Well, he could kiss that dream goodbye. With monsters as weak as those guys, its not like anything remotely more exciting would just pop out of the blues to cheer up his muggy day.

* * *

The sun began to rise, shining it's the morning light across the land; the wind whipped across the grassy plains, and the morning dew dripped down and onto the forehead of the vampire Seras Victoria, who laid unconscious on the ground. The cool water caused her to wake up from her slumber. "Ughhhh..." Seras rubbed her eyes as she began to adjust herself to the rising sunlight. She noticed a hand resting on her abdomen, and realized it belonged to her master, who was lying unconscious right beside her.

Seras gently shook her master's shoulder. "Master! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Alucard's eyes fluttered open, squinting as he did so to adjust to the bright light. "Uhhh... my head."

"Master, what happened?"

Alucard slapped his palm to his forehead as he tried to recall how he got here. "I was about to face off against that traitor Walter, that insane major just landed his Zeppelin onto the ground, and suddenly, a huge pressure began to envelop us. Our bodies began to burn bright white, and I passed out."

Seras pushed herself off of the ground, with her master following suit. The young vampire tried to think of how this had happened. "Do you think we were teleported to another place? Maybe another country? Like the United Staters perhaps?"

"I'm not quite sure..." Like Seras, Alucard hadn't a clue what was going on here. Perhaps his supernatural senses could help sniff out some useful information around here. Alucard closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and honed his extrasensory senses. As soon as he did, he let out a gasp of surprise. All across this forest, no, maybe even across the entire planet, there was a very odd aura that was seeping from the atmosphere and possibly through the ground itself. This kind of energy was something he never felt at the Hellsing Manor or any other place on Earth.

"Master? What are you doing?"

Alucard "There is an unusual aura encased around this entire planet. We need to do some more extensive searching to find out exactly where we are."

"What do you propose?"

"The most logical move at this point is to walk through this forest until we stumble across a civilization. Then, we'll find out what where we are and if there's any method to contact Hellsing Organization."

"Sounds like our best course of action. Very well, master." As the morning sun rose on the pine trees, the rays of light hit the young vampire, causing her to winced. She reflexively shielded her eyes. "Master, how do you stand this sunlight?" groaned Seras.

Alucard sighed. "It's exhausting, I know. However..." Alucard eyes his apprentice with burgeoning curiosity. "Before, you weren't even able to go outside without wearing a hooded jacket. Now, you're able to withstand sunlight without major damage. Your vampiric strength has grown immensely, Policegirl."

Her face blushed red, which went along with her crimson red eyes rather nicely. "Thank you, master."

"With enough training, you'll be able to walk in daylight with only minor aching at worst. Now come. Let's search for any signs of human life and find out where we are."

The pair of vampires began to walk through the dense forest, the shade of the trees giving them some mild protection from the sunlight. Seras smiled while she walked through this very peaceful natural landscape; it had been too long since she could remember being able to do something as simple as taking a stroll through the forest. Such simple things had become distant memories once she became a member of the Hellsing Organization, living under the order of Master Integra, her Master Alucard, and Walter...

Seras' stomach dropped when that name came to her mind. Walter... It pained her to think about Walter's betrayal to Hellsing. Where was he now? What happened to Walter? Was he transported here just like she and her Master? These questions ran rampant through her mind.

"Pondering on the fate of that traitorous mutt?"

Alucard's words snapped her out of her thoughts, with Seras giving her master a look of surprise. "How did you know?"

"Don't you remember? I can telepathically link with you read your thoughts like an open book."

"Aren't you wondering what happened to Walter?"

Alucard scoffed. "The idea that I would care about the wellbeing of a pathetic louse who abandoned his humanity, his country, and his honor in exchange for power is absolute nonsense. When we find him, I'll make sure he suffers the most humiliating disgraceful defeat he can possibly imagine."

The female vampire met her master's comment with silence. This silence continued for about 30 minutes, both of them struggling to think straight with the irritating sunlight landing on their skin.

"Master! I think I see a clearing!" Seras pointed up ahead, and sure enough, a city began to come into view off the horizon. But as the city got closer into her line of sight, her smile slowly turned into a grimace; rising from the city was a huge stream of smoke, with screams of terror accompanying this sign of trouble.

"Master! Some sort of fire or disaster is happening in the city! We have to go down there to see what's wrong!"

"Very well..." Alucard rubbed his temples and moaned in aggravation. "This better be worth the trouble..."

* * *

Carcasses. All across the grassy fields and pastures, the land was now devoid of any life, as dozens and dozens of cows laid on the ground. The sight was truly gruesome; their skin was a grey mesh of dead skin; their eyes were sunken into their sockets, and so little flesh remained, the entire skeletal structure was visible to the eye.

In fact, the only living being was a teenager. Well, living was hardly the term. He was once a living being, but after his organic body was destroyed beyond repair, he was reborn as a cybernetic hero, dedicated to eradicating evil wherever it may lie and exacting revenge on the robot that destroyed everything he had. His name was Genos, and he was a cyborg who worked as a hero.

By just merely glancing at the dead carcasses, the cyborg knew there was no possible way this was natural. No, someone or something seemed to be draining either the blood or the flesh out of these animals. Judging by the fact that they hadn't decomposed, he assumed this was fairly recent. And whatever this thing was, it was a safe bet it would be headed into town where it could find more victims.

Genos bent up from the ground, and began to walk his path to Z-city. It was time for him to conduct justice.

* * *

"Run for your lives!"

"Mommy! What is that thing!?"

"It's a monster, sweetie! The good heroes will take care of it!"

In the inner district of Y-City, fires were burning, people were panicking and screaming, and two heroes were in a heated duel with a Tiger-level monster who was threatening the safety of the civilians like many monsters did on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. The monster was around 2 meters tall; his entire body was covered with a thin layer of black fur. His ankles were elongated like that of a dog, and his fingernails were sharpened into deadly claws. But the most drastic physical appearance was that his snout was elongated, his ears were pointed, and his teeth were three times the size of a humans.

The B-class hero continued to swing and slice his opponent, the power from his strikes creating some minor shock waves and noises in the air, but the monster calmly dodged his attacks, landing a counter-attack of his own which made Darkness Blade groan in pain.

"Shadow Blade Strike!" The B-class hero jumped up into the air, then, spinning midair to gain more momentum, Darkness Blade slashed downward and hit the monster dead-center. But such an attack was still not enough, for the monster raised both of his hands into the air and caught his blade, eliciting only a few drops of blood from his palms.

"How did you..."

The creature laughed a heartless and malicious cackle. "You were a fool to think you defeat a creature as powerful as me by yourself, for I am no normal monster! I am Jackal Hound! I was once an underground fight owner who managed dog fights! I loved the ferocity and bloodshed I saw in those mangy mutts! After years of working in the business, that unmitigated passion transformed me, turning me into a humanoid hound dog with animal instincts driving me to kill whoever I see!" Jackal Hound opened his jaws, hovering above Darkness Blade, and snapped them close. The power of the monster's bite broke the heavily plated armor, leaving Darkness Blade in shock.

"So this is the level of a B-class hero? What a joke. I could take out 20 of you without even breaking a sweat."

"How were you able to crack through my armor?"

"Through my mutation, I learned that I attained a biting strength equal to 7,000 PSI; that's more than a saltwater crocodile, which was formerly the animal with the strongest bite on the planet. But since you managed to make me bleed, how about I give you a little reward?"

Jackal Hound's jaws opened, and Darkness Blade's entire head was now in this vile mutt's mouth. The disgusting scent of this monster's breath almost made him want to puke.

"Open wide!"

But just before Darkness Blade's head could be cleaved off of his body and swallowed by the beast, he could feel his body being quickly grabbed by some unknown stranger. He looked up, and saw it was a woman with crimson red eyes and a militaresque uniform that looked like it was soaked in blood.

"Are you alright?"

The hero took a moment to process this sudden news before he could respond. "I'm fine. Who are you? And why are your eyes so red?"

"I'll explain later," Seras softly dropped Darkness Blade to the ground and drew her attention to Jackal Hound. "What's your business with this man?"

The Tiger-level monster licked his lips in delight at the sweet and tasty newcomer that had just saved that wannabe hero from being his midday snack. "That tiny swordsman was getting in the way of my rampage. Were you thinking of getting in my way too? Because a fine dame such as yourself isn't worth getting my claws dirty."

Jackal Hound let out a hum of surprise when he realized that instead of having a left arm, there was instead a giant black mass of some sort of dark matter in the shape of a tendril. "What's with that tentacle of yours? Are you a monster? Because it'd be pretty nice if you joined me and became my personal bitch."

Darkness Blade shuddered. Seras' tentacles began to change form, twisting and morphing into several different shapes, all the while her face teeming with anger. Was Jackal Hound right? Was she some sort of monster? But if she was a monster, then why would she go through the trouble of saving a hero? What did she stand to gain from it? He had no answers to his questions, and it looks like this pile of questions was going to get bigger and bigger, for standing about 20 meters away from him, there was a man with a pair of dark sunglasses, but they did little to hide the fact that his eyes were just as cardinal as Seras, with a trench coat plastered in crimson red.

"Police girl, calm yourself and stay back. I'd like to handle this one myself. I want the pleasure of wiping that sadistic smirk off of his face."

Jackal Hound bared his fangs at this newcomer's insults. "Are those tacky sunglasses preventing you from see things clearly? Since they clearly are, take em off and get a good look of me! How the hell could a scrawny piece of shit take on a monster like me?!"

"A monster, you say? You call yourself a monster?" From his inner pockets, he drew his specially handcrafted pistols, .454 Casull and the Jackal. For ammo, the .454 Casull was equipped with 13 mm shells, but this pistol paled in comparison to the Jackal. There was no weapon more perfect in vampire-hunting than this pistol wielded in his right hand. "Well then, allow me to educate you on how a real monster does battle!"

"Bring it on!" Jackal Hound quickly pounced to Alucard. Alucard fired his Casull, but the monster managed to evade each of them, albeit with a narrow gap with each dodge. Jackal Hound unsheathed his claws, and swiped across Alucard's chest, which Alucard smoothly dodged. Jackal Hound launched a barrage of jabs and kicks against Alucard, but Alucard's enhanced speed and reflexes allowed him to continuously avoid Jackal Hound's attacks.

From the sidelines, citizens had cautiously peeked out of their hiding places to see what was going on and whether or not Darkness Blade had defeated this monster or not. But now, instead of Darkness Blade fighting, a new opponent was combating Jackal Hound, and he was actually able to outmaneuver him.

"Is he a hero?" asked a spectating citizen.

"I'm not sure."

"Do any of you recognize him from the Hero Association registry website?"

"I don't know..."

"Who cares?! He's making a fool out of that monster, and that's all that matters to me!"

Alucard jeered Jackal Hound. "How pathetic. You may have some physical strength, but your attacks are guided by only rage and animalistic instincts, which couldn't make it any easier to read your movements."

"SHUT UP! I'LL GRIND YOU TO A BLOODY PULP!" Jackal Hound leapt into the air, directly above Alucard, and gleed with delight. "Let's see how you deal with my ultimate move!" While he was in the air, Jackal Hound began to spin his body in a forward motion, slowly gaining momentum to make his attack all the more lethal. Once he felt he had gained enough speed, Jackal Hound pummeled himself down to the Earth.

"Jackal Slasher Hasher Basher!"

"Try saying that 5 times fast." Alucard pointed his Jackal up to the sky. "Oh, wait. You can't. Because you're already dead." Alucard fired a single shot, but that single shot dealt an unbelievable amount of damage; the bullet tore directly through his left arm, leaving it hanging by only a few strands of meat. Jackal Hound screamed and writhed in agony and grabbing the stub that used to be his arm. He rapidly lost his momentum, and by the time he landed to the ground, his speed was barely above of that of a falling pebble. "How can a pistol deal so much damage? I'm invincible against bullets..."

"This is no ordinary pistol. For ammunition, armor-piercing 13 millimeter hollow point bullets; the bullets laced with a casing of Macedonian silver, featuring an explosive tip containing charges of pre-blessed Mercury. There is no better pistol in existence."

Alucard pointed his Cassul at Jackal Hound, and fired a consecutive stream of bullets. But what made this all the more painful was that each of his bullets was precisely aimed to hurt him, but not kill him. No, Alucard couldn't let a pathetic creature like this have a quick and painless death.

The dog screamed in agony. Blood began leaking out of the bullet holes from Jackal Hound's body, and he now laid limp on the ground, whimpering in agony and fear that his death was quickly upon him. His eyes became clouded with water as all of these thoughts were racing through his mind. "Please! Don't kill me!"

Alucard looked at this contemptible display of weakness with pure disgust. "Look at you. You act in a cavalier and utterly confident fashion, but in the end, you're just a useless sniveling lump of meat."

Jackal Hound was about to vehemently spew an insult back to the vampire, but before the words could reach his lips, Alucard thrust his hand straight through the monster's heart. Blood now poured out of Jackal Hound's wound like a river stream while he was continuing to writhe and squeal on the ground like the vermin he was.

"Burn in hell, you swine." These were the final words Alucard spoke to Jackal Hound before he defiantly turned and left the monster to die alone.

The spectating citizens bean to walk uneasily from their hiding places, as if making sure the fight was truly over. Once the realization that their lives were no longer in peril struck them, they all began streaming in droves toward their savior.

Alucard took this sudden influx of civilians crowing around him with both curiosity and confusion. During his employment with Hellsing, his work was always undercover, so no one in the real world would discover the existence of vampires, and therefore he never received any commendation of any kind. Unsure of how to respond to this praise, Alucard stood in the middle of this crowd in silence and a small smirk upon his face.

"Thank you!"

"Could I get your autograph?"

"What's your name?!"

"Ummm... Alucard," responded Alucard in a semi-baffled and unsure tone.

"What rank are you? You MUST be a member of the Hero Association!"

The last comment caught Alucard's attention. "Hero Association? An entire association comprised of humans dedicated to fighting evil? How peculiar..."

Alucard's tone of voice caused the spectators to look at each other with confused looks. "So... you're not from the Hero Association?"

"I've never heard about it until now."

One of the teenage males in the crowd pushed the other citizens aside and came straight to face Alucard. "That was freaking sweet! You should totally sign up to be a hero! With your badass outfit, your overpowered guns, and your awesome sunglasses, you'd make it to A-class at minimum! At best, you'd probably make it as high as S-class! In fact..." The teenager rifled through his pocket, and took out a card. The teenager brushed off the dust, and gave the card to Alucard. "Here's their number. If you signed up, I bet you'd be a freaking prodigy!"

Alucard marveled at the fanatical enthusiasm this youthful child displayed at Alucard's victory over Jackal Hound. He honestly didn't know why these citizens were making such a big deal out of it; this monster couldn't have been much more powerful than any of the vampires he fought prior to this second scuffle with Millennium. So why all of this praise? Alucard hadn't a clue. "I'll take your offer into consideration." Alucard stuffed the card into his pocket and gave a smirk to the boy before walking to his faithful servant. The teenager beamed with delight. But his beam quickly disappeared once murmurs and whispers of worry began to pass through the crowd of citizens. It took him a second to realize what it was they were so worried about, but once the boy got a good look at the woman Alucard walked next to, he could see where they were coming from. Instead of a left arm, what there was was a swirling tendon of black mass. And what was even more disturbing was that Darkness Blade was knocked unconscious just beside her.

"Mr. Alucard, don't go near her!"

"Stay back!"

"She's a monster!"

Everybody set themselves into full-on panic mode when that possibility went through their minds. But before they could act like the crazy, irrational, and angry mob that went on instincts and fear, Alucard angrily shouted, "Silence!" The citizens immediately did what Alucard said, but the tension did not fade within the crowd. "This is my apprentice! She is of no harm to any of you!"

"Yea!" added Seras. "This is just a prehensile whip that I control with my hand! My left arm is just a regular arm, I swear it! And besides, even if I was a monster, what would I gain by saving a hero?"

The teenager who gave Alucard a HA card was the first to speak, saying, "Yea! If you calm down and think about it, she has a valid point! I mean, she just saved Darkness Blade, a B-class hero! I think that's a pretty good reason to place our trust in them!"

The crowd of people came to their senses, and the tension finally disappeared.

Seras gave the teenager a warm smile. "Thank you."

The teenager blushed at Seras' kind words.

"What's your name?"

"Everett."

"Well, nice to meet yo-"

"Attention all citizens!" The city's loudspeakers blared to life, causing everyone to look up. "An evacuation order has been set in place for Z-City, and civilians in Y-city are recommended to stay indoors until further notice! Large swarms of mosquitoes have been spotted in City Z, and mummified remains of farm animals have also been found! If you see a large swarm of mosquitoes, hide indoors immediately!"

As soon as the loudspeaker cut off, the townspeople started scrambling, pushing each other to the nearest door they could find, while Seras, Alucard, and the unconscious Darkness Blade remained standing on the street. "Master, what do you think this could be?"

"Hard to say..." Alucard stroked an imaginary beard, attempting to formulate any explanations for this random occurrence. "Given that mosquitoes consume blood for sustenance, and several mummified animals were found near these mosquitoes, it's safe to assume these mosquitoes sucked the blood out of those farm animals." Seras let out a small gasp. "For all we know, these mosquitoes next targets could be humans."

"What?! Then we have to go!"

"Yes. More than that, it could be some sort of sort of elaborate plan orchestrated by that insane little Major to collect blood for his own psychotic project. Or maybe it could just be sheer coincidence. Either way, it won't do us any harm to investigate."

"Sounds like a plan." Using her dark matter tentacle, Seras picked Darkness Blade up from the ground and gently placed him at the entrance of a nearby hotel, where the civilians were nervously waiting for the all-clear to leave.

"I hope he'll be alright," said Seras.

"Please," jeered Alucard. "That wound barely pierced his skin. If he can't take that kind of pain, then he won't make it as a hero for much longer." Alucard holstered his guns in his pockets, putting his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "It's time we finished what we started."

* * *

City Z was a ghost town. The morning sun was blocked by a dreary, thick layer of grey cloud formations which hovered over City Z. All over the city, the loudspeaker continued to resonate across the desolate city.

"Citizens! Evacuate to the underground bunker in the center of Z-city! A swarm of hostile mosquitoes has been spotted, and they are lethal! Those who are unable to make it, stay indoors at all costs!"

But alas, there are some people who aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, and as it happens, one of those people was pilfering through the empty stores. He had a gruff beard, a ragged red-colored sweater, and a green hat, with a crowbar in his hand that was breaking through every window that had something shiny on the other side.

"This is too easy! Thanks to that warning, everybody in town split!" The crook broke the window and began the process of stealing everything in the store. "What a bunch of idiots! Like anybody's gonna die from a mosquito bite! Even if it does give me a little pin prick..." The criminal gave a crooked smile when he saw all of the loot in his sack. "It's definitely worth it."

But then, out of nowhere, a gust of wind came throttling in through the street, throwing the crook off balance. Just as quickly as it came, it vanished, leaving the crook perplexed about what that could have been.

"What the hell... Was that the wind?"

While the man was left in confusion, he was completely unaware of the swarm of mosquitoes that came creeping up behind him. It was only when he felt their tiny and multitudinous bodies creeping up through his legs did he realize his truly idiotic mistake of staying on the street.

"What the... "AHH! AHHHHHHHHH!" Screams sounded through the empty city, and the robber tried desperately to swat the mosquitoes away, but it did nothing. The mosquitoes began to drain the man of his blood, causing his skin to lose its color, his eyes quickly becoming empty sacs. In just 5 seconds, the man was reduced to nothing but a pile of dry flesh and bones. Once the man was sucked dry of all his blood, the mosquito swarm flew up into the sky, and huddled around their master, their queen. Flying in the sky was a gigantic, practically weaponized version of a regular mosquito. She had glowing long hair and a hauntingly human-looking face, but beyond that, she was a mosquito from head to tail. On her back were a pair of large wings which allowed her to sustain flight, along with her light weight. Her limbs were extended with twin hooks at the tips, with a series of long bristles covering her biceps and shins. On her head, there was a pair of compound eyes, two sets of antennae, and a shortened proboscis, with a sharp and deadly horn on her forehead.

Her entire body was pulsing, for as the queen of these mosquitoes, she was the sole one of them who had the privilege of keeping all of the delicious blood to herself. She moaned in ecstasy as her tiny little helpers injected her with the warm liquid that flowed through her like a warm and refreshing river.

Alas, the mosquito queen was not too pleased. "That wasn't nearly enough blood to satisfy my needs. Go, my little helpers. Go get me some more, for I, Mosquito Girl, command it!"

"Incinerate."

* * *

The bald hero, Saitama, squatted quietly on his balcony as he watered his only plant cactus. Saitama was quite perplexed with the news he heard about the swarm of mosquitoes flying through City Z, but he figured that it was something like what butterflies or bats did, like migration or junk, and it seemed like it wasn't too big a deal for someone like him. So instead, he chose to stay home and do his arduous chores. He still chose to stay in his hero outfit, since he was too lazy to change into anything else.

But then, his ears picked up a faint buzzing. He looked up, and sure enough, there was a mosquito, buzzing around in front of him. The mosquito landed on Saitama's right hand, preparing to take a drink of Saitama's blood, but before he could even take a breath, Saitama's left hand slapped him with lightning speed.

Howbeit, the mosquito fluttered its wings and flew off of Saitama's hand, completely uninjured. The mosquito now landed itself onto the left side of Saitama's forehead. In a swift movement, Saitama slapped the mosquito, gusts of wind accompanying it. Again, the mosquito made its way through the small cracks of Saitama's fingers.

Saitama's face twisted in frustration. "Time to take things up a notch." Saitama's form vanished instantly, and reappeared for a fraction of a second, his hands slapping what should have been a dead mosquito, but instead, it was just an unharmed insect. This repeated itself multiple times. Saitama's speed clearly demonstrated; to a regular person's eyes, it looked like he was teleporting in and out of reality.

After about 3 minutes of Saitama trying to kill the little pest, he finally caught his big break with a final slap. The heat from the blow caused Saitama's palms to steam. "I've got you now."

But the mosquito squirmed out of Saitama's hands and hovered over Saitama's head, mocking him with his annoying buzzing.

All the veins on Saitama's head began throbbing out of control, and his hands were clenched into fists so tight, the floor was actually shaking around him.

"You damn mosquito..."

* * *

"Incinerate."

From the ground, Genos fired an incineration blast at Mosquito Girl, but Mosquito Girl's rapid wing beats fanned the blast into nothingness.

"Hmmm?"

"I see now..." Genos now understood what was going on. "The mosquitoes suck the blood, and you hoard it all for yourself. That explains their mysterious hive-like behavior. So if I were to get rid of you, the mosquitoes would disperse, am I wrong?"

The mutant mosquito sneered. "It looks like our next meal has arrived. Be dears and drain that fool dry." The mosquitoes came crashing toward Genos like a giant tidal wave, encircling around him and preparing to drain him of his vitals.

But instantly, the mosquitoes could tell that something wasn't right. They attempted to sting him, but they couldn't pierce beyond his skin. Thousands upon thousands of mosquitoes attempted to suck his blood, but all they ended up with were bent proboscises.

"Incinerate."

In a single yet mammoth-sized attack, waves of flames spread throughout the horde of mosquitoes, roasting them until they were little more than ash, blowing off with the wind. Up in the sky, Mosquito Girl's eyes were wide with shock and her mouth open with disbelief. He took all of her helpers out in a single attack? What was he? Was he even human?

"I will eliminate you. Now prepare yourself to taste death."

The mutant was taken aback for a split second by this person's stoic and brazen attitude in the face of a monster such as herself. But instead of being intimidated by the hero's threat, Mosquito Girl giggled at his foolish assumption. "You really think you can eliminate me?" Her pupils dilated, and she shouted, "Then GO AHEAD AND TRY!"

The cyborg did as she said and leapt up into the air, and the battle between cyborg and mutant began. Genos started the fight by striking her with a left hook, to which she dodged, counterattacking with a hard downward slam and a left hook of her own. Genos blocked her left hook, and using the moment to his opportunity, activated his short-range incineration cannon and blasted Mosquito Girl with a short pyro-kinetic blast, which propelled him backward in the process. Genos stopped his momentum with his feet, then, using his thrusters as extra boost, launched himself right back at Mosquito Girl and threw a hard right jab. Mosquito Girl smirked and met his punch with her own, and the force of the two punches nullified each other midair. Mosquito Girl smacked him back down to the ground, but Genos managed to swiftly land onto the street. Lifting his arm, Genos focused his energy into his left palm. "Incinerate."

From Genos' palm came another flame blast. Mosquito Girl swerved around it, prompting Genos to fire a barrage of consecutive flaming blasts at Mosquito Girl, but her swift and nimble body allowed her to evade all of the rapid fire, all-the-while getting closer and closer to her target. As Mosquito Girl got closer, Genos realized what her plan was. So when Mosquito Girl was just about to impale Genos with her horn, the cyborg ducked and tore off both of Mosquito Girls legs like they were paper.

"What?! But how?!" Mosquito Girl flew quickly up into the air to get some distance between her and that freak, but Genos would not be deterred. How was he able to predict her movements like that? Her panic only grew when she saw him raising his arm again as he prepared to attack her with his incineration cannon.

"You cannot escape me." Genos fired, but Mosquito Girl neurologically commanded her mosquito subjects to protect her, which they did, leaving them charred beyond recognition and blowing them off just like their brothers before. Mosquito Girl used the distraction to fly high into the air so she would get even farther away from Genos before he had the chance to fire another blast.

"What the hell is that freak? If I don't come up with something soon, he'll get me! I'm going to need more power..." She licked her lips at the thought. "The townspeople might be hiding, but there are more than enough animals in the surrounding forests to feed off of." Mosquito Girl concentrated, and commanded all of the mosquitoes to her side. In seconds, several different swarms of mosquitoes began flying up into the sky to obey their queen.

"Thats it, little ones! Empty all of the delicious juices you have into me!" Mosquito Girl was completely enveloped by her mosquito subjects, and the huge mass of mosquitoes circling all around her made it appear like a floating dome, with a fluid and ever-changing surface.

Genos could immediately tell whatever she was doing wasn't good, and the sheer numbers of these insects only made it more shocking.

"So many... If she has been collecting blood from the whole town, as well as the surrounding areas, then it must be more than a simple food source for her..." Genos craned his hands backwards and prepared another attack. "I need to put an end to this before she has the chance to he-"

"GET BACK HERE, DAMN IT!" The voice of an irritated man caused Genos to stop his attack. He turned to his right, and saw a man in a ridiculous looking outfit with a can of bug spray, attempting to kill one of the mosquitoes that was for whatever reason not with the rest of its kind. 'Who is this idiot, and why is he here of all places?' thought Genos.

"YOU AND I AREN'T DONE YET, YA LITTLE BASTARD!" The mosquito flew up to the rest of its brethren. "Ah! It's in my mouth!" Spitting out the spray, Saitama angrily wiped his tongue with his cape. "Nasty little..." He lost his words when he looked up and saw the most bizarre thing in the sky. "Whats that swirling?" A terrifying thought struck Saitama. "Are those... MOSQUITOES!" The bald hero whimpered in fear; one mosquito was bad enough, but how the hell could he withstand an army of them.

"You there." Saitama looked and saw some sort of robot or teenager or something staring at him with a serious look. "Evacuate. That swarm is conscious, and it will attack you."

"Thats bad news. We should... Wait, why did the mosquitoes stop moving?"

"What?"

Genos looked up, and sure enough, all of the mosquitoes had become stationary, the only thing moving being their wings. "What? Why did you stop?!" Genos and Saitama could hear Mosquito Girl's angry tone from the center of this mosquito dome. "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!"

What happened next was something neither Saitama nor Genos could believe was possible: in the sky, a monumental tidal wave of blood was beginning to form. All of the mosquitoes' wings stopped beating, and their bodies were actually being ripped in half. The ocean of blood became bigger and bigger as more and more mosquitoes began dropping like flies.

"NO! MY HELPERS! WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

"I'm afraid the position of blood-sucking monster is already taken, so you're free to go," shouted a voice from a distance.

Mosquito Girl's face twisted with pure hatred. "WHAT?! WHO SAID THAT?!"

"Down here." The mutant mosquito looked down, and standing on the roof of the building, was the darkness that cast a shadow over darkness itself, and its faithful servant standing at it's right. The no-life king, the impaler, the devil. Yes, Alucard himself had arrived, and it couldn't have been at a better time.

"This should be... VERY interesting..."

* * *

 _Boom! It's goin down! What's gonna happen?! Is Mosquito Girl gonna fight Alucard? Is Alucard gonna rush the gun? Will you get to watch Alucard's smug face staring down at Saitama?! Find out in the next chapter of Monstrum Hominis!_


	3. The Lone Cyborg

_Hey guys! Chapter 3 is up! I'd just like to thank everybody who has been reading this story for all the support you've given me. I am dumbfounded that only two chapters have been posted, and I'm already up to 86 favorites, which is about to beat my other 12-chapter story, of Titans and Alchemists. So sit, relax, and enjoy reading the 3rd chapter of Monstrum Hominis!_

* * *

Millions of tiny little lives were snuffed out in an instant. The precious and savory blood that Mosquito Girl was collecting in such gargantuan amounts was being taken from her unrightfully by some sort of... she couldn't even tell who the hell this random stranger was, or how in the hell he managed to physically control the flow of blood and amass this much of it to his whim. Was he even human?

On the ground, Genos was imbibing how this immense red ball of blood was forming in the first place. Given Mosquito Girl's angry shouting and previous remarks, Genos knew that Mosquito Girl wasn't responsible for this. So that meant the only other one who could have done this was... The teenage cyborg shifted his sensors to target the man with the red trench coat, and his eyes hardened. According to his sensors, this "person" was emanating unnaturally high energy levels for a human. At this "man's" side, a teenage girl with short blonde hair and crimson red eyes was merely observing just as Genos was. Genos scanned her, and sure enough, she was reading nearly the same energy level as her associate. But if they weren't human, then what were they doing here interfering with another monster? Genos had to know more before he engaged any further hostilities.

"Just what in the hell are you?!" shouted Mosquito Girl.

Alucard flashed a devious smile. "My name is Alucard, King of Vampires. I was just taking a serene walk, minding my own business, and as it so happens, I stumbled across some insect monster with an army of mosquitoes."

"So you are a blood-sucker as well. Unfortunately for you, I don't share my blood with others, and all you've done is gather the blood in one place and makes it easier for me to soak in all in! And if I remember correctly, vampires drink their blood with their teeth! So unless you plan on getting the world's biggest straw and spend the entire day sucking through it, I suggest you move along before I rip your head off your body!"

"RHAH!" Mosquito Girl launched herself at Alucard, her claws and proboscis primed to slice through his skin. But just as she was about to strike through Alucard's chest, Alucard ducked under her and stabbed his hand straight into her stomach. Fortunately for her, the wound hadn't managed to kill her, but one could say the pain that came after was more unfortunate than a clean and painless death. "How cute! Now, if you don't mind, I believe your blood is a good enough reward for my victory prize."

"Wait, what are you..." Mosquito Girl's voice faltered, as she saw that huge ball of blood in the sky begin to dissipate, morphing into multiple red rivers that were all flowing toward Alucard. No, not toward Alucard. Into Alucard. The undead vampire maliciously laughed as he himself began to feel the overwhelming amount of blood entering his vampiric body. He could feel them all. The army of souls compacted in this blood, swarming in mindless chaos as they entered into Alucard's body. But what struck Alucard was the fact that he could sense almost no human souls inside this mass of blood; instead of humans, about 99% of the souls were of animals. "I guess I should have expected that from such a lowly animal bent on consuming blood. Although I have to give credit on your efficiency. This much blood is more than even I might be able to handle!"

"You bastard... THAT'S MY BLOOD!" Using whatever strength she still had left, Mosquito Girl jumped up and slashed her right claw at Alucard. Alas, Alucard reflexively caught her claw with his hand, and fired his Jackal with his free hand. Mosquito Girl screamed in unbearable pain as the silver-laced bullet passed through her right lung. "Guess these bullets work on more than one type of blood-sucking monster."

"Fuck... you..."

"Not even on your birthday." Alucard opened his palms and scrunched his face. In moments, the speed at which the blood was flowing accelerated. Alucard braced for the increased speed in which the blood entered his body. When the blood finally entered his body, the sensation was instantaneous. It was like he just received a surge of heroine, multiplied by 10. It was a feeling of euphoria, so much so that he began pitching a tent. ""Amazing! This is more blood than I could ever drink!"

In less than 20 seconds, every single drop of blood had become part of Alucard's unholy vessel of darkness and chaos. The vampire shuddered. The rush he got from such a prodigious amount of blood was more than he had expected. "Just one more mistake to erase..."

Alucard craned his head to face Mosquito Girl, whose face was now as pale as a ghost. "What are you..."

"Now you will come to terms with your crimes and feel the fear all your victims felt when you drained the life from their bodies."

On the ground, Genos had already made his decision: this monster needed to be put down before he would do anything else. He didn't know what it would do, but he wouldn't take any chances. Genos put his arm out toward Saitama, and said, "Stay here. This is a serious situation. I will handle it."

"Ummmm... Ok?" Saitama gave him a small shrug and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll let you do your thing."

The cyborg propelled himself upward with his pyrokinetic blasts.

"Enough."

"Hmm?"

The pyrokinetic cyborg jumped up from the road and landed with a loud thud onto the top of the building, standing right behind Mosquito Girl. "You will no longer feast yourself upon the blood of others, vampire." Genos opened his palm, and fired an incineration blast at full power. The screams of Mosquito Girl filled the air, but Genos and Alucard's faces remained stern and unaffected by these torturous screams of pain. Only Seras was shown to be visibly unnerved by Mosquito Girl's unbearable pain.

When the smoke cleared from around Mosquito Girl's body, all that remained was a barely recognizable, semi-humanoid, blackened pile of burnt body. "You won't have the pleasure of draining her blood. All her inner liquids have been vaporized, turned into nothing but dust. And you will meet the same fate in a few moments, monsters."

Seras immediately interjected. "Wait, what did we do? We weren't the ones who killed all of the people and animals from this city! All my master did was drink all of the leftover blo-"

"SILENCE!" Genos gave Seras a hateful stare. "What your objectives were or why you're even here in the first place means nothing to me. All the evidence I need is standing right before me. Your associate already admitted that you were both vampires. All monsters live to only create violence and destruction wherever they roam, and in order for this evil to be cleansed of the Earth, I will eliminate all monsters I see until none are left. That is my purpose. Now prepare yourself for battle, monster."

"It seems that your intentions are made clear." Alucard pulled his Cassul out of his coat pocket, and aimed both of his pistols at his next opponent. "Very well. If that is your desire, then I'll indulge your delusional beliefs and fight you."

While all of this very intense verbal jousting was happening, Saitama was still standing motionless on the road, trying to analyze the situation he had just entered. On one side, there was this serious hero who seemed like a good person and was here to take care of the big bad monsters. On the other side, there were two individuals who hadn't done anything wrong thus far, with the female one in particular seeming to be a caring individual who actually DIDN'T want to pick a fight, but whom Saitama could tell were nonetheless monsters and who could be a dangerous threat if not handled properly. I mean, there was a LITERAL ocean of blood in the air, and this guy managed to suck all of it up; so what was to stop him form draining the blood of everybody in the next city? Or the city after that? Or hell, even the entire human population? But... who was right in this situation? What if the monsters really did just happen to come along and take the blood that was already stolen by another monster? Its not like they actually killed any people or animals; all they did was pick up the scraps leftover on the dinner-table. Was that really a good reason to kill them? But could he really just let them go?

But inside the depths of Saitama's mind, something that was overriding every other thought was one thing: if this guy could give Saitama a decent bout. If this vampire guy was able to control a tidal wave of blood, then he must be quite the monster. Although Saitama felt like he had to feel this out a little while longer before he could make a proper decision to act or to let it be. It was all about the right moment to come in...

"Wait Master!" Seras tugged on Alucard's left arm to bring his attention to her. "Can't we-"

"I'm sorry, police girl, but this is the way it has to be."

Alucard circled back toward his new opponent, and smiled. "Let's begin."

The bullet in the Jackal's chamber launched itself out, and fired outward towards its new opponent. Genos swiftly dodged his bullet and landed a firm right punch in Alucard's stomach. The force of the blow sent Alucard falling down onto the street that was now littered with the bodies of dead insects. The tiny bodies crunched under the weight of Alucard's boots.

The corners of Alucard's lips widened ever further, and he fired a consecutive stream of bullets from his Cassul. Genos leaped up into the air while continuing to evade his bullets, and fired an incineration blast at Alucard. Alucard ducked, narrowly avoiding the fiery blast. Alucard shifted his body back up, but failed to realize that Genos had used it as a distraction, and came hammering him with a left side hick. Alucard groaned in pain as he was sent back several feet, his feet breaking the ground below him in the process.

While he was in this physically shocked state, he lifted his right hand and fired his Jackal, hoping to catch Genos off guard. But Genos wasn't so gullible; Genos lifted his hand, and met the bullet with a fiery blast. The two met just a few feet away from Genos' head, creating a momentarily bright explosion.

"My my. Your strength is quite impressive. What did you say your name was?"

The cyborg was thrown off by this question. What was he playing at. "My name is Genos. What importance is that to you?"

"You impress me."

Genos clenched his fists. "Is that your attempt of mockery?!"

Alucard let out a hardy laugh. "If I were mocking you, trust me, you would know. I just prefer to get myself acquainted with powerful opponents."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not really the talkative individual." The teenager thrust himself forward, and threw a hard right hook. This time, however, Alucard met this attack with his own fist. The force between the two clashing created a great pressure change, forming small gusts of wind. Soon after, Genos' fist tore through Alucard's fist. Genos expected to see Alucard writhe and squeal in pain, but this wasn't the case. No, what Genos saw was the bloody and split hand being covered with some dark, red, fluid matter. In less than seconds, it looked like nothing ever happened to Alucard's hand.

"His unholy body can regenerate... How..."

"Like I said, many have tried to slay me, but they have all failed. If you think you have what it takes to take on a monster like myself, then I welcome you to hit me with everything you have."

The fire burning in Genos' body both physically and mentally flared up, and he darkly stared at Alucard. "If you wish."

"Hey dude!" Still standing on the street, Saitama called out to Genos with a still bored tone in his voice. "You sure you don't need any help? This guy seems pretty tough, and I feel like you're taking this a bit far. I mean, those guys haven't really done anything wrong so far. Doesn't it seem a bit rash!"

"I told you to leave it to me, civilian! These two would kill you in a second if they had the chance! You need to evacuate before one of these monsters decides to make you its next target!"

"Na, I'm good," shouted back Saitama. "I guess I'll just stay out of it?"

Genos ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He'd have to get him to safety once he was finished with Alucard whether he wanted to or not. Genos launched himself toward Alucard and attacked him with a left side kick. But to his utter shock, Alucard actually caught Genos' foot. Alucard flashed a confident grin, and threw him through the air, sending him crashing into a 3rd floor window. The teenage cyborg groaned in anger, and immediately lashed back at Alucard at full-speed, preparing an incineration blast at Alucard's face. But Alucard countered Genos' attack; just as Genos' palm was about to reach Alucard's face, Alucard pushed it aside and hit Genos square in the face with a right jab. Genos' trajectory was veered to the right, and he was sent face first into the road. Genos shook his head, his brain attempting to understand how Alucard was able to so expertly predict his movements.

"You allowed anger to cloud your mind in that last attack," said Alucard.

Genos pushed himself off of the ground and looked at his opponent with confused eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"How old are you?"

Genos' eyes squinted, and the corners of his lips went down. "What kind of absurd question is that?"

"Just answer the question."

Genos' fists tightened, and he reluctantly and aggressively responded, "I'm 19 years old."

"Ahhhhh... I see now..."

"What are you talking about?!" yelled Genos. "You cannot analyzing me like this is some sort of test trial!"

"Oh, but I can. Have you any idea how many years I've been roaming this planet?" Alucard craned his head up to the sky as he reminisced his many years in combat. "Nearly 600 years I've walked the earth. You couldn't even imagine how much strife I've seen, how many dead bodies I've had to step over, how many soldiers I've mowed down. Through these years, I've watched the marks of progress, the blood spilt on countless battlefields, and through that time, I've gained quite a bit of experience. That's why I understand your mindset, your single-minded objective to exterminate everything you see as "evil". In the end, you're merely a child who hasn't a clue about how the world wo-"

"SILENCE!" Genos slammed his fist into Alucard's gut with everything he had, eliciting a loud groan from the undead vampire. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME or WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH! DON'T LECTURE ME LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND WHO I AM! A MONSTER LIKE YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND TRUE PAIN!" The teenage cyborg threw his arms back, and shouted, "MACHINE GUN BLOWS!" From the teenage cyborg's fist came an unbelievably quick barrage of punches, battering and tearing away at Alucard's body. The demonic vampire attempted to meet these punches with his own, but his fists were already torn to pieces by the sheer speed and raw power of Genos' punches. This endless onslaught continued for about 10 seconds, until the speed of his punches started to decrease to the point of a complete stop. The cyborg looked at Alucard's body; the right side of Alucard's neck was almost completely cut off. His chest was bleeding a river of blood, and all across his body, there were large puncture holes from where Genos had landed his fists.

"Master!" The impaler's servant had finally decided she had had enough; it was time for her to enter this battle. Seras leaped down from the building and attacked Genos with a right kick across Genos' face. The young cyborg hadn't expected her to intervene at such a late time and was thus unprepared for this surprise attack. This feeling quickly faded, and Genos struck back with a kick of his own, hitting Seras in the chest. The force of this blow sent Seras back a few feet, but her will was undeterred. The teenage cyborg stared coldly at his new opponent. "You will be eliminated alongside your master, monster."

"Why can't you realize we aren't the bad guys here?!" shouted Seras. "I've spent my time as a vampire trying to help the innocent!"

"What utter malarchy." The cyborg pounced toward Seras, and the two exchanged a storm of blows. During this brief struggle, the two were evenly matched, the pressure from their blows creating more minute gusts of wind. The even exchanges were broken when Seras landed a right uppercut on Genos' chin. Genos' was sent up into the air, and Seras continued her attack by performing a middair spinning kick on Genos, crashing him back down to the road. Seras planned to finish the combo attack with a tentacle strike, yet just as she was about to land this attack on Genos, her opponent counteracted and fired an incineration blast from his palm. Seras screamed as she felt the fire enveloping her body. She began rapidly spinning in the air, hoping to fan out the flames through the increased air speed. Thankfully, it worked, and Seras quickly managed to fan the flames off of her body. But the pain quickly faded away as the dark matter within her reformed her skin, healing any charred parts of her body with new matter.

"Those flames are more powerful than I thought," said Seras to herself. "I'll have to be more careful." Seras braced, and extended her dark tentacles to attack Genos. Genos' body bucked and shook as he felt several small yet powerful attacks striking all over him, and he put his elbows up to properly defend himself from her pummeling. Seras quickly followed up with a right side kick. But Genos countered with his own right kick; the two colliding blows sent them back several feet from each other once again.

"Lets just stop this!" shouted Seras.

"Never," replied Genos with a cold and unwavering demeanor.

"Policegirl."

"Master?" Seras turned around, and behind her, Alucard's trench coat fluttered in the soft wind, and his confident smile was replaced by a serious and stern look on his face. His wounds had fuly healed, although it had taken a tad bit longer then Alucard would have hoped. "I want you to stand by."

"But master-"

"STAND. BY."

The servant silently obeyed her master and jumped up onto the perch of one of the nearby buildings. Now that Alucard managed to actually feel the brute strength of this fighter, he finally understood what he was dealing with. His combined arsenal of long-range and short-range attacks was quite impressive, and his physical prowess already exceeded that of the artificial vampires of Millennium. If Alucard was having a tough time against Genos, then his servant would most likely not have much better luck, especially with her pure heart holding back her killing intent. And while he was somewhat prone to hot-headed moments, he was still nonetheless analytical and well-equipped with several combo attacks that against a normal non-regenerative opponent, would have ended them.

"You've done better than I would have expected."

"Your compliments mean nothing to me," vehemently spewed Genos.

"Very well then. But I think there's something you should know: you haven't been fighting me at my maximum power."

Genos let out a faint gasp. This monster still had room to grow? That was the last thing Genos wanted to hear. "What?"

"You heard me. And now that I see you're able to handle yourself at my current state, I think it's about time we get things rolling." Alucard began waving his hands in the air, and began chanting the words of his release state."Releasing Control Art Restriction Systems 3... 2... 1... Approval of Situation A recognized, Commencing the Cromwell Invocation. Ability Restrictions Lifted for Limited Use Until Enemy Has Been Rendered Silent."

Genos tensed; whatever this was, he couldn't allow him to finish it. He lifted his hand and prepared a final incineration cannon to finish him, but he suddenly stopped. What in god's name was he looking at? Symbols on Alucard's gloves were glowing bright red, and his form began to lose its shape. All across the fluid mass of evil, eyes were actually forming and staring straight at Genos. Dark tentacles similar to his servants began spreading, creeping up to Genos. But what was quite possibly the most unnerving thing about all of this was the bugs. Thousands upon thousands of centipedes and millipedes were crawling, wriggling and writhing in the confines of the black matter, quickly making their way to Genos. Genos looked back up at Alucard, and almost vomited: both his head and his two hands fell off and plopped onto the ground, but how? What kind of vampire was this? What kind of monster could create something so nightmarish? Genos didn't even have the time to ponder this question, because from the disgusting mass, two phantom hellhounds floated at high speed toward Genos.

On the sidelines, Saitama was ready to hurl up his breakfast at what he was seeing. What in the HELL was this disgusting thing? The battle before this had already been pretty grisly, but this... this was just taking it to a whole different level. Suddenly helping out the hero seemed like a better option... But this secretly excited him in the more battle-driven part of his mind. This guy really did look like a badass monster, no question about that...

Despite the grotesqueness of Alucard's nightmarish specter animals, his steadfast resolve to defeat Alucard was still in control. "I won't be deterred by this!" shouted Genos. The cyborg rocketed toward these two monstrous hellhounds like a knight charging toward his dragon. Genos pulled his arms back, and simultaneously punched both hellhounds at the same time. The hellhounds let out a yelp of pain before dissipating into nothingness.

"Well, at least this proves you aren't as cowardly like the pathetic lump of dog shit I had the displeasure of fighting." Genos grimaced; the dark black mass now began to take form once again. The mist-like mass took the shape of a man, and Genos could see the distinguished features of this new form. His red overcoat and red hat were now gone; he now wore a dark obsidian charcoal bodysuit as his only garment of clothing. His hair was now much longer, thicker, and blacker than before. In fact, the only thing that was the same was the pair of gloves with the circular symbols engraved with black ink. His pistols he was using before weren't apparent, and Genos didn't know why. Had they been destroyed? Or was it that Alucard didn't even want to bother them using them with this new power?

"Now how about I start off with one of my attacks?" said Alucard. "Here I come." Genos braced himself in a defensive stance for what was about to come.

"RHAHHH!" Alucard sprinted with unbelievable speed and struck him with a right hook. Genos blocked Alucard's attack with his elbow and returned the attack with a left punch. But Alucard effortlessly caught it with his other hand. "What?"

"Hmph." Alucard pummeled Genos with a right knee into Genos' stomach. Genos grunted loudly as he felt the energy from Alucard's blow stinging him. What the hell? How could Alucard have gained such a significant increase in power to get him on the ground with only a single attack? Was this even possible?

"Come on! Get up! You can't be down after only a single hit! Show me the justice that you so passionately cling to in battle!" Alucard held out his fingers and mockingly motioned Genos towards him. The teenage cyborg took the mockery with great anger, and propelled himself at blinding speed. Genos and Alucard exchanged another quick burst of punches, except this time, Alucard had the upper hand. With every strike Alucard landed, Genos could feel his body slowly chipping and chipping away from the force of Alucard's punches. Genos didn't know for how much longer he could keep this up. They had barely started the battle, and already Alucard was showing the increased gap in strength between them.

"Got you!" Sure enough, Alucard landed a powerful blow on Genos by impaling Genos straight through his chest. "This battle is over."

"I'm afraid not."

Alucard's face faltered at his words. What did he mean? He stabbed him straight through the chest, a fatal blow. But wait. There wasn't any blood coming out from the wound. What did that mean? Alucard withdrew his hand, and his eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. Instead of blood and intestines, all Alucard saw was machinery and wires as the electricity cackled from inside of his body. "So... you're a machine." An interesting development; Alucard didnt expect someone so young would already have their human body taken away from them. "I see now. I was curious as to how you were able to fire those flame blasts, so at least that answers that particular question."

"Yes. My human body was destroyed long ago. I have been configured to become a cyborg of justice, dedicated to wiping scum like you from the Earth."

"Yes, you've made that abundantly clear."

"And now let me make THIS CLEAR!" Using the moment where Alucard's defenses were lowered, Genos attacked with a right uppercut, striking with everything he had. Alucard was sent flying up hundreds of feet into the air. Now was his chance. Genos would have to hit Alucard with everything he had, or else he would be done for. So, Genos raised both of his hands up into the air and joined them together, commanding all of the power from his energy core into his palms. But then, several miniature cannons popped out from his wrists to join in this display of literal firepower. It was all or nothing. His ultimate incineration cannon.

"Incinerate!"

From his palms, an unbelievably huge beam of fire and energy burst out, spanning out as it made its way to its flying target. The sky lit up in a dazzlingly bright orange display, with the very ground shaking in tumultuous vibration in the wake of Genos' monumental incineration blast. Seras covered her eyes from the sheer brilliance of the blast, and held her hands against her ears from the ear-splintering noise of such a powerful blast of energy. Genos continued firing his maximum incineration cannon for a short period of about 5 seconds, until he decided that he had properly finished the job. As the grey smoke cleared from the sky, Alucard's burnt and unrecognizable charred body fell from the sky. Genos watched with mild satisfaction as his lifeless corpse crashed onto the ground. "That beast got what he deserved."

But it was not the time to celebrate just yet. For there was still one foe left to properly deal with, and given his injuries from fighting Alucard, it would be no easy task. Genos began walking with a calm yet serious attitude toward Seras, who was still reeling from the shock of the blast and her master's singed body. "Master..."

"Don't mourn just yet." mocked Genos, deriding the vampire's "grief" of the death of her master, "You'll soon be joining him, for I will make sure that this time the job is properly fini-" Genos was cut off when he felt a foot crushing his kneecap. Genos' was left speechless, the edges of his mouth turning down and his eyes widening in shock and disbelief. "No... It's not possible..."

"Oh, but it is..." Genos turned his head, and sure enough, Alucard towered above him completely uninjured, as if nothing had ever happened. "I have to admit, your attack was quite the effort. But your overconfidence got the best of you, and you let your guard down at a vital moment. Now EAT THIS!" Alucard stretched his arm back, engorging his arm muscles to increase his strength, and struck the cyborg with his fingered attack. Genos let out a hefty shout, determined to fight until the very end, and met Alucard's attack with his fist. But it was already decided. Alucard ripped through Genos' hand with complete ease, continuing until Genos' entire right arm was split in half. Static began to hiss in the air, and Genos' internal machinery was torn beyond working capacity. Alucard shined a devious smile at Genos, holding Genos by the hair. "You put up a very good fight, Genos, but in the end, I'm the winner."

The grief, anger, and frustration stirring within Genos was unimaginable. The cyborg couldn't believe he had been so naive to believe that Alucard would have been defeated so easily, and even more naive to let his guard down like that. Alucard was right; the battle was already over. Genos had no chance of winning now. All he could do now... was self-destruct. Genos' body began to glow a bright blue, bewildering both Alucard and Seras. The teenage cyborg uttered only three words for his final epitaph: "Forgive me, doctor."

"NO!"

"Alrighty then, I think that's enough waiting around." A mighty gust of wind swept through the street. The ground shook in violent tremors, and before Alucard even had the time to register the unnaturally powerful force that surrounded him, a red-gloved fist hit him square in the face. The punch completely vaporized Alucard's face, and the air pressure from the punch shattered all windows that were still somehow intact, loosening the foundations of the buildings as well.

Everyone gasped. Well, Alucard would have gasped, if he had a mouth to gasp with. Genos muttered, "What in the..."

Saitama had finally made his decision. While Ganos or whatever was the one to pick the fight with these two, he couldn't let anybody get killed, and after seeing a fucking zoo of bugs and dogs bursting out of this vampire and walking away from that huge fire blast like it was nothing, this guy had gotten his hopes really high up. Saitama could see that this guy was somebody he'd have to take down himself. "Sorry I stepped in there, but I think it's time that I take a crack at it. Who knows? It might be pretty fun..."

* * *

 _The tension builds up yet again! Thought you were expecting Alucard vs. Saitama? NOT YET! Sorry, but you're just gonna have to wait :D._

 _Until Chapter 4, where the ultimate battle between two worlds will commence!_


	4. Ultima Pugna

_It's here! It's FINALLY HERE! Chapter 4! The ultimate battle between an unstoppable monster versus an unstoppable hero will finally begin! I'm sorry for taking so long, but I started playing alot of games I hadn't played in a while with my brother, and it was pretty fun. But anyway, enough talk. Watch as Saitama vs. Alucard unfolds at last!_

* * *

"Sorry I stepped in there, but I think it's time that I take a crack at it. Who knows? It might be pretty fun..."

The teenage cyborg and vampire were at a loss for words. It was hard for them to grasp if they had seen what they had just seen correctly, and that was saying something, considering all of the unbelievable opponents in this world of hostility and overpowered opponents. If their eyes weren't deceiving them, then it looked like they just saw a bald man punch Alucard's head off from his body and create enough force from his punch to destroy all of the windows that were behind him. Genos' body was trembling on the ground in shock and awestricken silence after witnessing this monumental display of power with a single punch. Likewise, Seras stood baffled, rendered in a state of immobile paralysis. Even after all of the hectic, violent, and monstrous creatures they had to fight and the topsy-turvy turn on their regular lives,at they just witnessed was something they could not understand. What in God's name was going on? Alucard's head regenerated in mere seconds, and the first thing his new eyes laid their sight upon was the pallid, uninterested, and rather unimpressive looking individual standing before him, and the same questions running through the teenager's minds were also running through Alucard's. Alucard eyed Saitama with stern, focused, and observant watchfulness, never breaking eye contact between the two.

Saitama stared at Alucard, unsure of why this vampire was paying such attention to him. "Uhhh... What are you doing?" Alucard gave no response, only allowing the confusion and tension in the air to thicken. The teenage fighters were just as confused as Saitama at why Alucard was doing nothing and instead opting to stay standing where he was.

"So, are we gonna fight, or no-" Alucard struck Saitama before he had the chance to finish his sentence. With his fingers extended, Alucard jabbed Saitama in the chest, but no visible indication of damage was shown by Saitama. Alucard continued the assault and attacked with a right hook punch to Saitama's face, but still, Saitama stood uninjured. Alucard struck with a third attack, but this time, Saitama counterattacked with a strike of his own.

On the sidelines, Genos and Seras couldn't tell that Saitama even made a move until they saw and heard Alucard being throttled back into the ground, his body creating a giant rift in the ground. The force from Saitama's punch created gusts of air that ruffled the hair of both Genos and Seras, knocking several rocks and debris from the nearby buildings off of of the ledges they were perched on. After about 5 seconds, the velocity at which Alucard was traveling began to decrease to the point of a complete stop at about 10 seconds. Alucard was rather slow to get up, brushing the dust off of his charcoal suit and his gloves. He looked down, realizing that there was a giant hole in his body, spanning up from his upper chest all the way down to his lower torso, watching as his demonic matter reconstructed his body as if there had been no hole there in the first place. "What remarkable strength..." Alucard raised his voice to a near-shouting tone and said to Saitama, "You're quite strong. Who are you? What is your name?"

Saitama calmly shouted back to him, "My name is Saitama, and I'm a hero for fun..."

"Interesting..." Alucard stroked an imaginary beard and continued to look intensely at Saitama.

On the flip side, Saitama observed how Alucard was able to regenerate despite the crazy amount of damage dealt to him. He wasn't quite sure how to take this news. On one hand, if he could regenerate, that meant the fight could go on for a much longer period of time. On the other hand, the fight could go on for a much longer period of time. He felt the strength of his punches, and he had to admit, they were pretty mediocre. They weren't "terrible", but it still wasn't going to bring him any real excitement. If that was the best he could do, then this wouldn't be fun. No, it would be freaking boring as hell. Saitama would have to just draw this out further until he could figure out if this was as strong as he could get.

Alucard sprinted as fast as he could toward Saitama. When he finally reached Saitama, he began his attack with a left punch. When Saitama dodged it, Alucard followed up the punch with a barrage of kicks and punches. On the sidelines, neither Seras nor Genos were able to keep up with Alucard's movements, even though Genos had fought toe-to-toe with him just moments ago. So this was Alucard's true power. Genos sighed; he truly never stood a chance. How disappointing that was...

Alucard continued his assault, determined to land a single powerful strike. But every single time, with every single punch and every single kick, Saitama dodged it. Nothing he did was sufficient enough to smite Saitama. After about the 100th attack, Saitama decided that he had had enough waiting and dodging around. On the 101st punch, Saitama grabbed Alucard's arm. Just from the strength of Saitama's unbelievably strong grip, the muscles and bones in Alucard's arm were already being crushed. Saitama gave only a slight tug, and Alucard's arm was torn off. Saitama momentarily held the arm in his hand, then threw it into the air like a common piece of paper being thrown into the garbage. Dark matter began to twist and turn, replacing the torn arm. But Saitama wasn't done with him; Saitama grabbed both of Alucard's arms, and like before, Saitama ripped both his arms off with complete ease. Yet Saitama didn't stop there; the bald hero grabbed Alucard by the thighs, and with a single thrust, both legs flew off. But the loss of his limbs wasn't enough to deter Alucard; while midair, Alucard craned his head back, and head butted Saitama square in the forehead. But it didn't even faze the bald hero; Saitama returned the courtesy and head butted Alucard's head. Alucard's head was sent propelling at a blinding speed; the kinetic friction from Saitama's head butt and the speed at which his head was hitting the ground was so strong, Alucard's head was practically vaporized by the time it came to a stop.

Alucard's headless and limbless torso fell onto the ground with a rather quiet thud. The bald hero stood over Alucard's torso, and punched Alucard in the chest, creating a huge hole that cracked all of his ribs and the ground below Alucard. Saitama withdrew his hand from Alucard's chest, and proceeded to nonchalantly brush off the dust and dirt from his hero suit. "Well, I think that takes care of that..." The two teenage fighters had their mouthes agape and the words they might have had to stay stuck in their throats. "Master..."

But from behind Saitama, a deep rumbling began to emerge. "That's just great..." The caped hero pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and closed his eyes in anger. "Goddammit..." Saitama made a 180 degree turn, knowing that looking up to see who it was was practically useless. Nonetheless, he looked up and saw red demonic matter swirling around where his head and limbs were, along with the hole in his chest. But then, his whole body began to morph to this demonic material, and then, the evil mass melted down onto the ground, surrounding Saitama on all sides like a pool of lava. "Woah..." said Saitama. "That's pretty cool... So what is this supposed to do?"

Alucard reformed behind Saitama and drew his Jackal. Alucard aimed the Jackal at Saitama's head, and pulled the trigger. When the bullet reached Saitama's head, instead of piercing through his skin, all it did was briefly flash and crumple up, falling onto the ground as it did. Saitama turned around to see Alucard with his mouth open and his pupils dilated in shock and confusion. "You can reform instantly like that?" Alucard couldn't comprehend this; his Jackal, a weapon of pure perfection designed to kill any and practically all supernatural beings, didn't even leave so much as a dent on Saitama's skin. Every obvious factor and feats performed by Saitama thus far pointed to him having strength unparalleled to a human's or regular vampires for that matter. But his senses were still telling him that the person standing before him was completely human. But how? What possible reason, what possible power, what ability made it so Saitama sensed as powerful as 100 Captains or 100 Andersons, the only two beings who ever posed a serious threat to him, and perhaps even more?

Saitama saw that observant gaze in Alucard's again. "Ok, what's on your mind, sunshine?"

"What are you?" Alucard spoke in a brazen and straight-to-the-point inflection.

Saitama questioningly responded, "Huh?"

"I said what the hell are you?"

The bald hero raised his shoulders and hands and blatantly said, "I'm a hero."

"Are you a monster in disguise as a human?"

"No."

"Then how can achieve such feats of strength?! No human could possibly attain such power through normal means!" Genos, on the other hand, watched Saitama both with concern, knowing if monsters knew his secret, the world as they knew it would be doomed, but a small part of him yearned to know the answer, lying in wait for an answer to this crucial question this monster was asking the hero. While Genos couldn't comprehend why in god's name would a monster such as this be asking a question such as that, this answer was the key factor in surpassing all evil that would come his way, including Alucard.

Saitama merely shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just trained like hell for three years. Not much to it."

Alucard couldn't understand it. "But such strength isn't humanly possible through training! If your casual punches are strong enough to rip holes through bodies and shake the ground around you, then I daresay that a serious punch could in fact destroy a city, perhaps even an entire continent! And to achieve such strength just through training?! That kind of strength is god-like! So I will ask again! HOW... DID YOU... ATTAIN... THIS... POWER?!"

The bald hero closed his eyes and let out a huff of annoyance. He opened them again, placidly looked at the monster before him and said, "Look, you may not believe me, but that's really all I did." The bald hero didn't know how to convince him otherwise.

The cybernetic teenager was unsure of Saitama's answer. Was he deceiving Alucard? Was he playing games with the monster to torment him and toy with his mind? Was this mere condescension at the huge gaps in power between them? Genos had no idea. Likewise, the teenage vampire couldn't get a good read on what Saitama was really doing by stating the answer so bluntly. Both teenagers couldn't even imagine how Alucard was responding to this answer, and they both craned their heads to see Alucard's reaction.

Alucard remained motionless. Not a feature on his face changed, not a finger on his hand twitched, and not a single leg muscle moved from their spot on the ground. All he did was just... stare. Alucard just stared into those eyes, those eyes that were lit with nothing. No anger, no fear, no pride, no happiness, and most of all, no passion. Such eyes as those were the eyes of a human who lost his soul. No, for a human who never had one in the first place. Eyes like those were for dogs who took orders from their masters without questions asked, who would live their lives blatantly doing what they were told, who lived for nothing and nobody. Alucard had lived far too many years to not know every shade of humanity, to separate the heroes from the cowards, to understand just exactly how hopeless some humans can be, while others are diamonds in the rough. Seras Victoria was that diamond in the rough, and that was why he had chosen her. Because in the face of impossible odds and living hell, when all hope seemed lost, she fought against the beasts at her door with indomitable and unadulterated will. That same will burned brightly in the eyes of the meritorious cyborg whose passion and rage, even in the face of defeat, perpetuated onward. Disseminated among the populous of humans, these individuals existed. He had once been one of those individuals who fought valiantly in the name of the Lord he thought on his side. Or so he thought. But when his autonomous reign or avarice and aversion against the Ottoman Empire came to a grinding halt in the form of chattels, bearing the weight of his sins, his unimaginable loss of his kingdom, his castle, his people, his wife, his children, everything he held dear to him, he chose not to blame himself, but to blame God for abandoning him when he needed it the most.

With the primeval desire of survival driving him on, he chose to drink. Even if that meant sacrificing everything he was, and sacrificing everything and everyone that was dear to him. But the truth was, that back then, he never considered what he'd do with his eternal life. With the new immortal life he had cheated his way into, what was there left to live for? And so he waited, and waited for death to come. For the weight of his past to come crashing down onto his oncoming future. But alas, despite the knowledge that no true immortals have ever or will ever exist, he was unfortunately quite close to it, and no matter how many honorable knights like Van Hellsing and Anderson fought him, in the end, they could never truly smite him. He was still forced to roam the Earth, a mere killing machine roaming from battle to battle, a shadow of the person he once was. Why this bald man would fight a monster as powerful as himself, he didn't know, but just from gazing deep into the eyes of this man combined with the blatancy, dullness, and what he assumed was condescending attitude, Alucard had enough. This had to be a monster with highly advanced supernatural techniques; he must have also purposely dressed himself in such a ridiculous manner in order to humiliate him. Yes, that had to be the answer.

A deep chorus of short laughter emanated from Alucard. "I've caught on to your ploy."

"Huh?"

"I know you're a monster in disguise."

The bald hero's right eyebrow lifted upward, and he shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated manner. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh come on! You really like to stick to the book, don't you? Very well then, I'll play along with your sadistic GAMES!" Alucard resumed their battle with renewed vigor, and violently roundhouse kicked Saitama in the head. Saitama was sent a few meters to the right with his feet still planted into the ground. "Hah! Shaken in fear at because your cover has been blown?! How pathetic!" Alucard leaped up into the air, hovering right above Saitama. "I'll put a dent on that shiny head of yours!" Alucard accelerated downward, and slammed his fist onto Saitama's head. But just like last time, not a dent appeared. "GRAHHHH!" Alucard jumped backwards, and drew both his Jackal and Cassul from the confines of his demonic body. "YOU'RE MINE!" Shots rang out of both pistols with deafening blasts. But Saitama wasn't impressed; Saitama instantaneously disappeared, making it seem as if he had just teleported out of sight. It took a moment for Alucard to regain sight of him, but he quickly found Saitama perched up on one of the ledges of a building. Alucard angrily fired a stream of bullets at Saitama. The power of both guns and their bullets destroyed the stone foundation behind Saitama. Saitama dodged again, and this cycle continued on and on, with the bald hero being none too amused with Alucard's fanatic and enraged firing spree. This repeated for about 40, maybe 50 shots, until Saitama grew weary of such a repetitive and unamusing style of battle. "Alright, you've had your fun." Saitama appeared behind Alucard, and before Alucard could even turn around, Saitama banged Alucard on the head just as Alucard had done to him moments ago, lodging him into the ground and sending more rocks flying into the air.

"Yea, doesn't feel too good, does it!" Saitama drew his right hand back, and blandly said, "Consecutive Normal Punches." In an instant, a blur of red-gloved fists covered both Saitama and Alucard. The crater formed from Alucard's underground lodge deepened and widened by the second, as the air pressure & force from these seemingly infinite number of fists destroyed the rock unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity. Saitama stopped his attack once he felt like he had done enough. "You know, you're kinda starting to piss me off," said Saitama. "Can you just do us a favor and stay down? Please? I have some grocery shopping I have to do! Those half-price cabbages aren't gonna buy themselves, ya know!" Alucard's body was at the center of this deeply widened crater, torn to pieces by Saitama's fists, and barely recognizable as human organs. But, per usual, the lumps of Alucard's destroyed body quickly came together and retook the shape of an equally pissed off vampire. When Alucard's mouth got around to reforming, his first words were, "I WILL NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO BE DEFEATED BY A MONSTER SUCH AS YOURSELF!"

"Dude! I'm not a monster!"

"Silence! It's become clear what I must do." Never in all of his years had he expected this to ever occur. He expected his end to be met by someone like Anderson, with unwavering demeanor, a fiery passion for battle amplified by the fury in his eyes, and having his heart claimed after a well-fought battle. But this? This was preposterous; being defeated by such a low-life and emotionless livestock such as this was unacceptable. It appeared like he had no choice: he would have to go all out.

"Police girl, go to higher ground. You won't want to be caught in the current that will be soon be flowing through this city."

"What are you..." Seras gasped. "You mean..."

"Yes. I do."

"But Master Integra isn't here! The release requires two to work!"

"When the Hellsing family experimented with my body and installed the Control Art Restriction System, they installed a fail-safe in case they were ever indisposed and I was up against an opponent or an army too strong to take on in my Level One form."

"Uh... What are you guys talking about?" questioned Saitama.

"Hahaha..." Alucard devilishly grinned at his opponent. "You're in for a real treat. You see, you haven't been fighting me at my full strength."

Saitama's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me. Locked within this body, there is a final release state that gives me access to my most devastating powers."

"Are you serious?"

"Quite."

"Thats... AWESOME!"

Alucard's mind almost blew to pieces. Did he just hear him correctly? "I'm sorry?"

"If you've got more power behind your regeneration and your guns, then show me!" Alucard felt like the opponent before him and everything he thought he knew about him had been turned 180 degrees. He was showing... excitement. Excitement at the prospect of fighting against a powerful opponent. But those eyes... He looked into them again, and instead of a lifeless gaze, his eyes were instead filled with elation. As if this were some sort of game to him. Was it? Alucard didn't have time to ponder such things; the time was for action, not talk. "GO!" shouted Alucard back to his servant.

"Yes, master!" But instead of jumping up to higher ground, she instead sprinted over to the side of... Genos? Neither Alucard nor Saitama could understand what compelled her to aid the very same person who had tried to terminate her and her master with no mercy. Likewise, Genos angrily grunted being in the mere presence of such a monster, shooting a look of pure contempt at the teenage girl when she made it to his side. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting you off of the battleground," replied Seras. "Isn't it obvious?" Seras picked up the damaged body of the teenage boy, which was met by complete resistance and a hectic struggle to break free of her grip. "Let go! I will not be spared by an abomination like you!"

"Well, life isn't always about you!" Seras jumped up to a building, and bounded across the several stores and hotels to find the tallest point in the city. She finally found the perfect spot by a clocktower resting next to a mall. The vampire bent her legs, and hopped up to the top of the tower, being careful not to let her cargo squirm out of her hold, whom was frantically shooting pyroblasts in all directions and yelling for his release. The moment her feet touched the tower, Seras let go of the teenage cyborg and placed him directly beside her. When Genos got himself out of her hold, the first thing he did was fire another pyroblast at Seras. Seras jumped out of the way and onto the roof just above the clocktower. "Hey! What's the big idea?!"

"I didn't ask for your assistance!" shouted Genos. "I would rather die than let myself be saved by a follower of evil like you!"

"You're impossible, you know that?!"

"Ok..." Alucard turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "Let's get started.

"Release Control Art Restriction Systems 3...2...1... Commencing the Cromwell Invocation." Alucard slowly moved his hands in a hypnotic fashion as he spoke. "Initiating Emergency Override. Approval of Situation B recognized. All ability restrictions lifted for unadulterated use until enemy has been rendered silent." Alucard moved his hands to form a square, and in the center of that square, a monstrously large eye appeared.

"That's what I like to see!" shouted Saitama.

The Vampire King calmly inhaled, then exhaled, and with his next breath, spoke the words that drew him strength.

"When hope is gone, undo this lock. And send me forth... On a moonlit walk..."

"Release Restraint Level... 0."

* * *

 _Aw, you didn't think it'd be that easy, did you? No, I only gave you a little taste of what's to come! So if you wanna find out just how intense this duel is gonna be, you gotta stay tuned for Chapter 5, where the climax of this battle finally begins!_


	5. Ultima Pugna: Part II

_Chapter 5 is up! Watch it finally unfold! The climactic battle between the Vampire King and the most powerful hero in history is finally upon us in all of its unbelievable glory! Now enjoy!_

* * *

"When hope is gone, undo this lock. And send me forth... On a moon-lit walk."

"Release Restraint Level... Zero."

* * *

Darkness. Cold, infinite darkness traveled up his spine. The unrelenting, torturous screams of men, women, children, and animals rang in his ears, their pain so deep that even the mightiest of monsters would be unnerved. Deep in the bowels of the Monster Association's headquarters, Rannisam was experiencing this feeling.

Just a few feet away, Gyoro Gyoro noticed his sudden shift in facial features. "Rannisam? What's the matter with you?" Rannisam paid no attention to his associate's comment, only focusing on the stirring in his body. Gyoro Gyoro walked over to Rannisam and waved his hand in front of his face. "Rannisam? Hello?"

"Gyoro, something HUGE is coming through the dimensional gateway."

"What are you talking about?"

"From the same dimension I brought the vampires from, I can sense something crossing to our dimension, and it isn't my doing." This comment perplexed and, like Rannisam, somewhat concerned Gyoro. "What do you think it is?"

"Souls. The anguished screams of damned beings. I can feel their cries flowing through me like the River Styx. It is LITERALLY a river of death." Rannisam's face froze. "Wait..." Anguished screams? A river of souls? Why did this all seem familiar? Then it came to him. "Alucard..."

Gyoro Gyoro's multiple eyes widened hearing that name. "Alucard? The vampire? What about him?"

"Remember the tidal wave of humans he summoned against that army of soldiers?"

"Yes."

"I think that he's activating the same power he did in that vision."

Gyoro Gyoro gasped. "What? But how?!"

Rannisam's eyes met the ground as he pondered this. "I think... the coffin. You saw the symbol on his coffin glowing brightly once he activated his release state. I believe that his powers have a direct correlation with this coffin of his. He may even be life-linked to this coffin; it's rather stereotypical when one thinks about it. Anyway, it must be that Alucard is reactivating his powers."

"Is that even possible?"

"In a world filled with monsters like us, anything is possible. I can only imagine the hell whoever is unlucky enough to fight such a monster is going to experience."

* * *

"That's pretty ominous, man. I give you props for that."

Saitama, a bald hero for fun, stood in front of his opponent, Alucard, and ready to take whatever Alucard could dish out at him. For once, he might actually be able to fight an opponent who could entertain him just a little, enough to get his blood pumping and his adrenaline racing through his heart. If Alucard was able to morph his body and summon freaking hellhounds, Saitama was definitely curious about what this Release Restraint Level 0 state would bring. All he'd have to do was wait for the fireworks.

Alucard stayed in his same posture, his fingers forming a square and the eye in the dead-center. What was taking so long for the show to start, one would ask? Alucard was waiting; this new development confirmed his theory that this was not the planet Earth he & Seras were familiar with. At the moment, he could in fact feel his own coffin coming closer and closer to him through some sort of portal. Since his coffin was directly linked to him, Alucard could sense its movement and what was happening to it. But he still didn't understand why he and Seras were sent here. Who was behind all of this? Another part of Alucard's brain snapped him out of it, reminding him of the matter at hand. His power would arrive in about 3... 2... 1...

Alucard's entire body shook like a doll when he felt the final bounds of his power being let loose once again. He felt the familiar, despondent souls flowing through his body, giving him boundless strength. Alucard's form glowed a dark red, then began to float within the air as a formless, demonic cloud of mass. Dark tendrils whipped around him, destroying whatever still remained of any nearby buildings and smashing them to pieces. Saitama's neutral expression turned into a more daunting and serious demeanor.

"Something big is coming..."

To most who had been unfortunate enough to witness Alucard's wrath, that would have been the understatement of the century. From this writhing, nightmarish apex of evil matter, something began to emerge. Saitama found it hard to believe what he was seeing; coming out were undead humans. "Zombies?!" Oh, but it was more than just "zombies". Through the spilled blood of his enemies & the innocent, an ocean of blood proceeded to flood the city.

"Oh shit!" Saitama jumped up into the air just in time to avoid being drowned by the river of blood. Now, Saitama knew that his emotions were significantly dulled, and that in exchange for this unimaginable power, he barely felt anything, but Saitama would have to be a freaking robot not to be rattled by this. The streets of City Z were no longer streets, but rivers of blood and despair. The lost souls began to jump out of the river of blood, each of them lost to the current of damnation and oblivion. On the surface, multiple eyes of crimson red spawned that blended nicely into the ocean of blood. The only reason Saitama was able to see them at all was because there was nearly limitless numbers of them popping up on the surface.

On the clocktower, Genos wasn't handling this much better than Saitama. What Genos was seeing was... death. Death had truly been awakened. So many humans, so many innocent people who were forced to flow through the eternal hell on Earth. And to think that such a thing could exist through only one monster? No, monster didn't sum up what Genos saw Alucard as. To Genos, Alucard was a demon, a devil, the epitome of evil itself, and Genos knew no human could ever have even a glimmer of hope in defeating such an abomination. The only being that could reign supreme over the epitome of evil was a god.

The bald hero pushed himself midair to change his area of descent, and fell onto one of the buildings that sustained the least amount of damage. Saitama had managed to calm himself down, albeit with some difficulty, but then again, any sane individual would probably be pissing in their pants. "Alucard wasn't kidding. Now exactly where is he..." Saitama placed his hand on his forehead and scouted the surrounding road where Alucard had initiated his release state. "Come on, where are you, you son of a bitch..."

Something caught Saitama's eye; in the center of the road, the army of zombies was starting to disperse to the sides of the road, making way for something else that was forming from the same demonic matter as before, taking the shape of a man. Saitama squinted his eyes to get a more detailed view of what was forming. What he saw formed was a man hunched over. This man had a black cape that fluttered in the wind and lied over his shoulders and his arms. His attire consisted of ancient knight armor and a brown belt wrapped around his waist, and on the belt, a large sword was strapped. But what took Saitama away was this man's face. His eyes were crimson red, just like Alucard. Now that Saitama thought about it, this man's face looked almost identical to Alucard's, minus the mustache and the peach fuzz. "Well, here goes." Saitama jumped down from the building and several meters away from where this unknown person was standing.

"So what's your deal?" said Saitama, his arms crossed and his face the usual expressionless mask he wore. "Is that you, Alucard, with a different set of clothes?"

The man gazed at Saitama with those red, lifeless eyes, and said, "Alucard is not here at the moment." Saitama could hear the thick accent of his new voice. "You face Count Dracula of Wallachia-"

"Whoa whoa whoa..." Saitama held his hands out and interrupted him before he had the chance to continue. "Dracula... Isn't that just Alucard spelled backwards?"

"Yes. It has taken others... much longer to piece that together, so give yourself a pat on the back."

"Thanks."

"Now that that's out of the way..." Dracula unsheathed his sword, and sprinted toward Saitama; the battle had resumed. Dracula struck with a series of swings from his sword, yet Saitama dodged them like they were nothing; the bald hero could see that there was a significant rise in speed, and the sword was pretty cool-looking too. Dracula attempted to stab Saitama in the chest, but Saitama caught the sword at the tip. "Yea, I didn't come here to watch you dabble with swordplay." Saitama pulled the sword out of Dracula's hands and held the sword by the hilt, feeling the weight of it in his hands. After observing it for a moment, Saitama nonchalantly threw it to a nearby building, where it lodged itself.

"We're doing this mano-a-mano." Saitama lifted up his fists, and threw a right fist at Dracula. Per usual, the force of the punch sent Dracula backward and destroyed most of his body. The vampire king planted his hand into the ground and came to a quick stop. Dracula sighed a breath of annoyance. "Very well... If you insist..." Dracula's body glowed a bright red, and his cape wrapped around his body. A few moments later, the cape fluttered back, turning the same bright red and morphing back into the body. Underneath the cape revealed the opponent Saitama had gotten to know all-to-well in all-too-short-a-time; Alucard, with his charcoal-black suit, his long, obsidian hair, his white gloves, and those excited, blood-red eyes, appeared yet again to battle Saitama.

"But first..." Saitama looked behind him, and he saw the flood of zombies that was rushing behind Alucard and heading straight for Saitama. "You'll have to deal with them..."

Unfazed by Alucard's challenge, Saitama bucked his hips and arrogantly smiled at Alucard, and said, "Bring it on."

The familiars all lunged at Saitama, all-the-while leaving Alucard untouched. Saitama clenched his fists, and loudly shouted as he threw his punches. The bald hero was obliterating all of the familiars with only single punches, their entrails splattering on the street and their bodies being tossed high up into the air beyond anyone's line of sight. Despite the hundreds upon hundreds of familiars practically drowning Saitama, the bald hero was making quick work of them, as if there numbers meant nothing to him. As the bodies continued to pile and pile and pile, the street upon which Saitama and Alucard were standing started to become drenched in the blood of the deceased. The speed and force at which Saitama was killing the familiars was so fast, steam began to arise, clouding Saitama and all of the familiars that went his way.

But Alucard was convinced in his victory; it was impossible for a single person to be able to handle thousands upon thousands of enemies all attacking him at the same time, and bare-handed no less. All he'd have to do is wait and see once the smoke cleared. After about 15 seconds, the army of familiars began to wane, until there were none left coming on the street. The vampire king folded his arms, supremely confident in his victory. "It's finished."

"What's finished?" From behind the steam, the all-too-familiar voice ringed out. Alucard's arms dropped to his sides, and his mouth opened in disbelief; behind the layer of steam, Saitama stood with his uniform stained with blood, but otherwise completely unharmed. "Well, that was really something. I thought I was gonna be drowned by all that blood. How the hell did you manage to create an army of zombies?"

Alucard didn't respond; he couldn't respond. But that shock quickly mustered into anger, serving to fuel his strength. "DAMN IT!: Alucard raised his hands, and in that moment, a pool of blood rose from the ground. Alucard closed his hands, and the pool of blood changed into an army of animals. Saitama gave Alucard a perplexed look. "What's the deal with the undead zoo?"

"Not my idea," replied Alucard. "Courtesy of that hentai monster and all of the forest animals her little minions drained dry." Saitama made out all kinds of animals: cows, deer, bucks, bears, some dogs, and even some squirrels standing on the backs of the animals in front. Drool dripped on the ground, mixed with drops of blood, and growls resounding deeply in Saitama's ears.

"Speaking of which..." Alucard snapped his fingers, and in the air, an army of mosquitoes appeared. Saitama's stomach dropped to the floor. "Are those... undead mosquitoes?" asked Saitama with dread lingering in his voice. Alucard beamed in delight when he saw Saitama's frightened face; this was the reaction he had been hoping to get out of this beast: fear. Alucard raised his hand, and calmly ordered, "Attack." The army of animals charged the bald hero at full-speed. Saitama let out an annoyed sigh, and prepared to strike. The first line of animals, the cows, were mashed into ground meat with a single attack from Saitama. The next line, the deer, lunged at Saitama, but were all cut in half by sharp air pressure from Saitama merely swiping his hand in the air. The entire of line of animals behind practically trampled each other, all of them attacking Saitama at once. Alongside them, the horde of mosquitoes charged at Saitama, their proboscises ready to drink Saitama's blood.

"Oh SHIT!" Reflexively responding to fear, Saitama dug his heels into the ground and stretched his arms back behind him.

"Killer Move, Serious Series: Serious Clap!"

Saitama clapped his hands together as hard as he could at the army of animals. They didn't stand a chance; they might as well have been standing in a Category 5 hurricane, because that would have had slower wind speeds. But this? All of the animals were sent sent up into the air, their whimpers and cries barely audible over the unrelenting surges of wind. The mosquitoes were crushed as other mammals collided into each other, and even if they were lucky enough not to be crushed, their wings were completely torn off by the wind speed. The hurricane-esque winds didn't just tear down the animals; every single thing that was in Saitama's path was lifted up from the ground & torn from its foundation. The already-damaged remains of buildings were thrown up into the air at blinding speeds and crossing paths with the army of animals, mortally wounding them or even killing them in the process.

Alucard tried desperately to hang on and not be swept in the current, but it was no use; Alucard was helpless against such physical might, and could do nothing as he was blown away like a mere speck of dust in the wind.

When the bald hero got a good look at just how much damage his serious clap had done, he grimaced: standing before him was nothing but an arid wasteland, devoid of any signs of life or signs civilization had ever set foot here. Instead of black roads, a flat, rocky valley dominated the surrounding area that seemed to have no end. The only things missing were cactuses and some tumbleweed.

"Yea... I might have overdone it a little there..."

"GRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Saitama looked up, and saw Alucard up high in the air, some of his body parts still regenerating, his face twisted in rage. "DIE!"

Alucard pointed his fingers, and proceeded to spin his body in a forward motion, quickly gaining momentum to make his attack all-the-more lethal, courtesy of Jackal Hound. Alucard was spinning so fast, he appeared to be a black, swirling vortex.

Alucard jabbed Saitama square in the forehead; gusts of air pressure burst from the epicenter, although they were not nearly as powerful as seen moments ago. Alucard looked at Saitama, and still couldn't believe it: it had done NOTHING.

"Well, I can tell you got quite the power boost from the transformation," said Saitama. "But unfortunately..." Saitama grabbed Alucard's wrist and coldly stated, "It isn't enough. Sorry, but I've had my fill of this fight. I'm throwing you out of orbit..."

"What?!" shouted Alucard.

Saitama grinned. "You're going for a ride." Saitama gradually started to increase the speed of his spinning. Alucard would have tried to break free, but like he said, it was like Saitama's grip was magnetically stuck to his wrist, and nothing he did could get him out of it. As the spinning only got faster, a huge current of wind started to envelop the two fighters, bringing up even more dust from the ground.

The wind current spun and spun around like invisible axes. This monumental tornado was only growing in size, now hovering hundreds of meters in the air; it's winds now up to speeds of hundreds of miles per hour.

"Houston, we have a solution." But just as Saitama was about to threw Alucard into the heavens, part of Alucard's body expanded, its fluid form taking yet another shape. In seconds, the black mass took the shape of a giant hellhound, growling in anger and staring at Saitama with not one pair of eyes, but multiple sets of peepers blinked at him, all of them hinting that this dog didn't play nice.

"What the..."

Alucard felt Saitama's grip loosen; it was his chance! Using the momentary distraction, Alucard bent his body and proceeded to kick Saitama in the face, resulting in Saitama releasing Alucard from his grip and being sent back several feet. The Baskerville, with its two arms, monstrously sized teeth, and buckets of drool dripping from its mouth, roared at Saitama. "Good boy..." Alucard gently patted the dog, and the Baskerville bowed its head toward its master in respect and obedience.

Saitama whistled at the demonic monsters. "So you're a dog-person? Personally, I'm more of a cat-person; they don't leave shit everywhere they go."

"Well, it looks like this dog's gonna have to clean up the mess," replied Alucard. "ATTACK!" The Baskerville roared, and charged toward Saitama as it made way for its next victim. "Looks like its your turn to play dead!"

But wait. Just inches away from Saitama, the Baskerville came to a screeching halt. Alucard didn't understand; was his pet actually afraid? "What are you waiting for?! SICK HIM!" But the Baskerville was too scared; instead, Alucard's not-so-obedient-pet ran back to his master in terror-stricken petrification. Alucard looked at the Baskerville, and could see that all of his fighting spirit had vanished in his eyes, leaving only primal fear. The Black Hound then covered his eyes, whimpering like a weak little puppy dog, before he integrated back into his master's body.

Alucard was at a loss. He'd never been forced back into a corner like this. Alucard had unleashed his most deadly attacks, summoned thousands upon thousands of familiars, shot him with his Cassul and Jackal, struck him with the same attack that pierced Anderson's heart, and every single time, this infuriating man brushed them off as if it were mere child's play, like blowing away an entire army of familiars and fighting the vampire king was nothing more than a tedious chore. This kind of strength wasn't fair, and this was coming from the Vampire King, who was arguably the first pioneer of immortality. Not that he took pride in those facts, but still. Nothing could stop Saitama. He was done for...

"NO!"

"Huh?" said Saitama. "Did you say something?"

Alucard refused to let this stand! He would not lose like this. He COULD NOT lose like this! It was unacceptable! His anger rose to pinnacle heights, and his teeth were clenched so hard, that they actually broke from the pressure accumulating. Even as the teeth regrew, the pressure was still there, and Alucard had to go through about 3 sets of pearly whites before they stopped fracturing. But something else was going on... Alucard could feel it; the anger and willpower to stand against Saitama was growing within him, pulsing through his vampiric blood. All the muscles in Alucard's body began to swell up; the symbols on his hands began to shine brighter than ever, and the bright glow began to spread beyond the symbols, until the bright glow encompassed Alucard's entire body.

"Another power-up?" said Saitama. "God, you really don't know when to quit."

The monster looked up to the hero, and monotonously said, "I did once. But not anymore. Not ever again!" Alucard let out a blood-curdling scream, and lunged toward Saitama. Saitama's eyes slightly widened; Alucard's speed had increased significantly from just moments ago. Alucard attacked with a series of consecutive punches, all aimed to maim his opponent. Saitama blocked all of his punches with his elbow, but his face had hardened into his serious expression. "GRAHHH!" Alucard craned his arm back, and struck Saitama with a right jab to Saitama's chest. The force of the blow sent Saitama back dozens of meters. "Huh. That wasn't half bad; you're tougher than I thought..." Alucard followed up his attack with a strong right roundhouse kick to Saitama's side, but the hero blocked it with his own elbow. The two combatants then struck each other with a series of blows, creating a crater beneath them that got bigger as every second passed. After about 5 seconds, Saitama forced Alucard back with a left jab, causing the vampire to grunt in pain. "But STILL not enough."

"Consecutive Normal Punches." A flurry of red-gloved fists came clashing at Alucard, ripping him to pieces. But instead of the pieces falling onto the ground, the chunks of meat were floating midair, where they all then regrouped together in a center with crimson black tentacles wrapping around them. When the matter took form, Alucard's face took the shape of an infuriated vampire.

"You bastard... I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Alucard's red glow began to brighten even more, and his white gloves were now lit maroon red, the symbols on his gloves now completely black. "It's all or nothing! Everything I have will be channeled into this single punch! Prepare yourself, Saitama, for my finishing move!" Alucard's right arm bulged until all of his arm muscles were as big as baseballs.

"INFERNO DEMONIC IMPALING STRIKE!"

Alucard rushed for his kill, determination and the will to stand victorious pumping through his heart and giving him the fuel he needed for his ultimate attack. This was it! This was the deciding moment! Alucard's victory was assured!

Saitama's eyes actually darkened, and at that moment, he decided to take the situation a little more seriously than usual. "In that case, I'll use my own finishing move."

Saitama waited for Alucard to come to him, and held his fist back while he prepared to retaliate against the vampire. "Killer Move, Serious Series: Serious Punch!"

When the two attacks collided, a sudden blinding flash lit the city, followed by a deafening blast that reverberated throughout the entire city, or whatever was left of it. On the clocktower, the two teenagers were knocked off of their feet by the unbelievably strong shockwaves from the point of contact. The clocktower upon which they were perched on collapsed, and all of the other buildings that hadn't been part of the aftermath of the previous battles fell apart at the seams. Tremors shook City Z, and all around the city, roads began to crack, apartment buildings began to topple, business offices were obliterated, and every single window or piece of glass throughout the city shattered into millions of tiny pieces. The shockwaves from the collision spread out for miles, enveloping the entire city in a momentarily bright flash. But it would have been better if the flash had lasted longer, because what was concealed behind it was a truly grisly sight to behold. It was as if an atomic bomb had been dropped onto the city, leaving nothing left but broken memories and the shattered remains of what used to be a civilization.

In the center of the valley of nothingness formerly known as City Z, the first sign of life popped up to the surface. Yes indeed, the vampire king's female servant had managed to withstand the force of that cataclysmic eruption. Even after witnessing the entire battle firsthand, her skeptical disbelief still lingered. Or perhaps it was denial: denial that someone so strong existed, no matter if he was a human or a monster; that in this world, an organism whose power fell into the realm of God itself could ever be born; that even an army of familiars could not smite a single fighter, and to know that during all of it, he hadn't even broken a sweat. A chuckle of awe escaped her lips. "Who would have thought..."

Merely a few feet away, the pile of rocks began to shift. Seras' eyes lit up; the female vampire sprinted over, rapidly clawing away at the rocks to save whoever was trapped beneath. A hand reached out for the light of day, and Seras pulled it up to see the accompanying body, and a familiar face showed itself. The pyrokinetic cyborg immediately wrestled out of her grasp, his venomous stare striking Seras like a rattlesnake preparing to attack its prey. Fortunately for Seras, but unfortunately for Genos, his body was damaged beyond walking capacity, much less fighting capacity. "Are you alright?" asked Seras.

"I'm not dignifying your question with a response, monster!" snarled Genos.

The vampire huffed in aggravation. "Figures." Seras surveyed the barren landscape for signs of any other life, more specifically, her master and Saitama. She wasn't even sure if they survived, a possibility she could not accept. After a few moments of searching, a small swirling dust cloud around the ground just a couple hundred feet away caught her eye. Was it them? Seras sprinted to the clouded area; but just a couple feet before she entered the dust cloud, the dust began to clear, and what she saw was permanently stuck in her mind: out in the open for everyone to see, a buck-ass nude and very chiseled Saitama stood. Seras cheeks blushed, becoming as red as her eyes.

Saitama turned his head when he heard faint steps to his right. "Oh hey, it's you." Seras immediately covered her eyes in embarrassment; she preferred not to get both sides of the picture planted in her brain. She spoke to Saitama while avoiding looking down at all costs. "What happened?! Where's my master?!"

"He's over there." Saitama extended his finger to his left, pointing to her master, who was lying motionlessly on his knees. Seras could see his right arm regenerating, but it was regenerating at glacier-speed. His head was looking down at the ground, his arms motionless by his sides. So her master... had lost?

"That was freaking intense," said Saitama. "It burned off my suit." No response came out of Alucard's lips. Saitama gave him about the 5th confused look in a row. Saitama swore, he could never get this guy. "Alright, what's the problem now?"

Alucard began incoherently mumbling, his head still bowed in defeat. "You... You..."

"Huh? I didn't catch that, you gotta speak up," said an aggravated Saitama.

"You really aren't a monster, are you?"

"That's what I've been telling you, jackass," replied Saitama, "It's about time you got that through your head."

Alucard looked up at Saitama, and Saitama was taken aback by what he saw: instead of anger, Alucard's lips were pursed into a smile. An actual smile. Did his brain not regenerate the right way during one of the millions times it regrew?

In the very dark mind of Count Alucard, he had reached an epiphany of some sorts regarding who Saitama truly was. During the most intense clash of his entire 568-year life, feeling the unimaginable, raw power from Saitama's punch, and feeling that amazing power flowing through his own body, he had come to the realization that this couldn't have been a monster. No, the kind of power Saitama possessed was something Alucard, not in his wildest dreams, could ever attain, nor any other monster. How he knew this? Alucard could see it: even during that unbelievably powerful clash, Saitama's eyes never changed. Saitama's eyes weren't dull because he was a soulless dog: it was because he had no reason to have those emotions. Alucard understood now: since Saitama was so immeasurably powerful, every opponent he would face was just a joke. All the emotions that should have been stirring in combat weren't there; they had no reason to be. Alucard laughed inwardly to himself. It was almost like looking in a mirror.

"You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that there is a human with the kind of power you have."

"It does?"

"I've walked this Earth for over 500 years, living as an abomination, killing soldiers, maiming families, all in the name of God. When I was on the brink of death, instead of choosing to accept my fate and come to terms with the countless wrongs I had committed, I chose to become the monstrosity you see before you. Not a day goes by where I don't wish I could go back and stop myself from letting that blood touch my tongue. Ever since that day, I've waited for my time to come, and it has finally arrived."

Vlad the Impaler spread his arms up to his sides, closed his eyes, and waited for the final blow to come. "The last of my stamina has been depleted, and all but one of the familiars within me has been destroyed. All you need to do is stab me through the heart, and I will be finished."

"Okay..." Saitama had never heard anybody monologue like that in his life. This guy was a real nutcase, and Saitama guessed he was the nutcracker. "If you insist..." Saitama moved his right hand back for the punch that would finish it all. This was it; Game, set, and match.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Anderson..."

"NO!" In the infinite abyss of darkness, the ray of hope, that light that stood out from the dark, shined its lustrous brilliance to save the despondent soul who openly awaited death. It was Seras Victoria who sprinted in front of her master to protect him, because unlike him, she did not find pleasure in watching him die. Seras bared her teeth, her dark tendril morphing and twisting in accordance to her emotions, and her fists clenched in anger as she was prepared to finish the fight Alucard had lost, but even now, she still made sure to only look at Saitama at eye-level. "I won't let you! I won't let my master be killed!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Her master violently pushed her away from his side. The teenage policegirl wouldn't give up, and went back to defend her master. Unwilling to let his apprentice interfere any longer, Alucard growled in anger and forcefully grabbed her by the collar. "CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS WHAT I WANT?!" screamed Alucard. "TO END IT LIKE THIS?! JUST LET ME DIE IN PEACE, POLICEGIRL! I SHOULD HAVE DIED 500 YEARS AGO!" Seras felt herself lose all control of her muscles when she saw that look in her master's eyes. It was the same look he gave Anderson just before he impaled himself with the Nail of Helena. He was staring at her with plea. He truly wanted this. "My time is now..." whispered Alucard, "Just let this happen."

"But..." Red and blue began to mix together, tears welling up in this girl's eyes, so evil... and yet so pure at the same time. "I don't want you to leave me. You're..." Seras' sentence was cut off by a sob, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "You're all I have left..." The grip on Seras' collar loosened, and Alucard's expression softened. Even after all of the pain, anguish, and sadness he'd witnessed and felt in his immortal life, seeing his servant in such a state quelled his anger. To know that someone with such strong will could be broken down to tears by a monster such as himself. In a way, both relief and disappointment filled his long-dead heart. "I know, Seras." The vampire king placed both his hands on her shoulders. He softly nudged his servant's face to meet his eyes and gazed into her red eyes, so full of hope and passion. And then, in the most affectionate display he'd ever shown in his life, moved his head forward so that their foreheads were touching. Seras let out a short gasp. "But remember what I told you before: this is the way it has to be."

"Does it?"

Saitama's presence had practically vanished, but he was still watching this scene unfold, and he had to say, it wasn't something he'd expect monsters to do. All of these emotions: grief, sacrifice, acceptance, affection, none of which you'd expect to see in true monsters. "Are you actually crying?"

Saitama's voice broke the moment between the two vampires; Seras turned her attention back to Saitama and stated ferociously, "Yes. So what?"

As he spoke, his eyes stayed fixed on the female vampire's protective stance. "You really care that much about a monster like this?"

Her eyes narrowed at the words. "I really do." Absolute resolve resonated in her voice.

"I see..." Her red eyes blazed into his, showing her unwavering determination to protect her master. Everything she's said, everything she's done to protect not only her master, but the bystander Genos as well, how she'd attempted to find a peaceful solution rather than recklessly fight like her master. Saitama knew that this girl had a gentle heart, but at the same time, was unafraid to act and defend those who were dear to her. And to her, Alucard was dear to her. No, she didn't deserve this. He couldn't do it.

"Well, then I guess I'm off..." The bald hero made a 180 degree turn, showing the vampires his shiny rear arse and stupefying them both. This wasn't how it should've worked! Any other opponent would've taken this opportunity to finish them. If this had been Anderson, he would have stabbed his blessed bayonets through both of their hearts in a heartbeat, but for whatever reason, Saitama was sparing their lives. WHY?

Alucard reached his hand out and forcefully shouted "WAIT!"

Saitama gave them a neutral glance over his shoulder "Yea?"

A quizzical brow arched over his left eyebrow."You were just prepared to kill me seconds ago! What made you change your mind?!"

Saitama passively shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I saw the way Sarah took Ganos to safety and tried to protect you, and I guess I thought... if a girl like that can shed tears for you, how bad can you possibly be?

"Anyway, I'll be going now. Try not to be bad anymore. Cya." Saitama gave a small two-fingered salute to the pair and jumped up into the sky, creating another small crater in the ground.

"Wow..." Just when she thought things couldn't get any more bizarre, she sees the hero spare the monster.

Alucard's mouth was a pursed lip, yet his eyes were lit up with a newfound curiosity he had never known before.

"That one truly is something else..."

Without warning, a loud scream echoed through the air.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?!"

* * *

 _And that's a wrap folks! It's finally over! As expected, Saitama was the obvious overpowered victor, but it was still one hell of a fight! And to the guys who kept on saying that why Saitama couldn't throw Alucard into orbit, I did it. But throwing somebody into orbit is just a lame way to end an opponent, and you know it. So stop complaining!_

 _Marethy the Angelic Horseman! Congratulations on leaving the 100th review of Monstrum Hominis! Big round of applause!_

 _Also, I just want to clear this up because it seems like a topic that many people aren't sure about, so I'm going to say my theory on Alucard's regeneration: I believe Alucard uses the familiars within him as energy for regeneration, but that is merely just a buffer; regular vampires have standard regenerative abilities, and when Alucard's familiars have been released, it is then that Alucard becomes susceptible to the standard vampire weaknesses, such as being impaled through the heart, especially with holy objects. I also think that if his regeneration is worked too much, he will need a little more time to regenerate said body parts, such as during his battle with Walter; when Walter took control of the Baskerville, you can see Alucard's arm is missing, yet it hasn't been regenerated, nor is it even in the process of being regenerated._

 _Anyway, be sure to leave plenty of reviews, and stay tuned to find out just how Saitama, the bald and currently homeless hero, is going to go about with his daily life!_


	6. Aftermath

_Hey! Chapter 6 is up! This chapter is basically just the aftermath of the battle, so don't expect any intense action sequences. Well, enjoy!_

* * *

"HOLY SHIT, WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE!"

The bald hero, Saitama, the most powerful fighter on the planet and quite possibly the entire universe, was on his knees, clasping his bald head with his hands and letting out gasps of shock and disbelief. All of this because he was standing in front of the ruins of what used to be his house. To most, this sort of thing would be a very tragic disaster, and many thousands of people would come to realize that their houses had met the same fate. But to someone as powerful as Saitama, this kind of thing should have been a slap-on-the-wrist kind of problem, yet it wasn't.

"If I had known this would happen from fighting that guy, I wouldn't have even made the effort! What the hell am I gonna do?!" It would probably take weeks, maybe even months, until his apartment building would be rebuilt, and he only had a few hundred thousand yen in his bank account, which meant that he'd have to go job hunting again. He hated job hunting; it was such a freaking hassle. Saitama covered his eyes with his hands and sighed. "Well, I guess I better get some clothes on before people see my ding-dong." Saitama walked up to the ruins of his apartment and began scrounging around for any of his clothes. While he was searching, he came upon his tv, the screen cracked and the remote broken in half. His kitchen had been all but destroyed, and all of the contents of his fridge had spilled out, creating a disgusting stench that made Saitama want to puke. A small stream of water filtered out of a shower-head, with a fractured toilet lying right next to it. All of these ruined items widened the frown on Saitama's face, a faint gasp of sadness escaping from his lips as well. After coming upon all of this broken junk, Saitama finally came upon two of his cabinet drawers. The drawers, of course, had been crushed under the weight of all the rubble, but apart from that, all of his clothes were still intact. Saitama grabbed all of the clothes he could in one big giant lump, and laid them all down on the street.

One-by-one, Saitama picked up each different article of clothing. With each of them, Saitama fanned them out, brushed off as much dust as he could, laid them flat on the ground, and folded each of them as neatly as he could. Saitama wasn't usually one for organization, but this was all he had left of his apartment, and he figured that just crumpling them up wasn't the right thing to do. When Saitama was finished, he counted each different piece of clothing he had folded, for a total of 21. As of now, he had 8 shirts, 5 pairs of pants, and 8 pairs of underwear, thank god, which meant 8 days at minimum, and about 2-3 weeks if he stayed clean. His eye caught a square object in one of his pants pockets. When Saitama dug the item out of the pocket, he actually cracked a smile; he'd found his wallet, with his Debit Card, Drivers License, and 15,000 yen in cash. Not giving two shits about what kind of clothes he wore, Saitama randomly snatched a clothing item from each pile and dressed himself accordingly.

"Now just gotta find a bag to put the rest of my clothes in."

Saitama went back into the pile of rubble and searched for any sort of suitcase or bag he could use. After a few minutes of scrounging, Saitama sighed a breath of relief; under a boulder the size of a cow, there was a brown suitcase. Saitama opened up the suitcase, not expecting to find anything, but to his surprise, he found three bottles of water, a bag of Doritos, and a Nintendo DSI XL with a charger. Saitama opened up the cartridge, revealing the game to be Pokemon HeartGold.

"I really should've paid attention to the people I was living next to." At first, Saitama was a bit hesitant taking the items from this suitcase, but he figured the people who were living here wouldn't notice too much in the face of a demolished house. Besides, the insurance would probably be enough for them to buy another Nintendo. Saitama put the game back in the cartridge and carried the suitcase over to the pile of clothes. The bald hero took out the contents of the suitcase, then carefully placed the clothes inside the suitcase. Once he finished, Saitama put the Nintendo, the charger, and two bottles of water back in the suitcase. "Guess this is my lunch." A moan of delight escaped his lips when his nose caught a wiff of the cheesy goodness hidden inside the Doritos bag. He voraciously chowed down on the unhealthy chips, chewing on them like his life depended on it. It only took about 15 seconds for Saitama to finish the whole bag; immediately after, Saitama unscrewed the water bottle cap and took a swig of the purified H2O.

Once he was finished rehydrating himself, Saitama stashed the water bottle back into his suitcase and sealed it shut.

"Oh man..." The seriousness and annoyance of his situation came back to Saitama, and he ran his hands through his non-existent hair. Hell, he didn't even have any socks or shoes to keep his feet warm. "Guess the only thing I gotta do is start walkin until I see the next city."

And with great haste, Saitama took his first step on the arduous journey of home ownership.

* * *

"Master?" The young policegirl sat beside her master, who was still kneeling on the ground, in shock from the battle that had just unfolded. "Master, are you alright?"

"He actually spared me..."

"I know, it was pretty surprising," said Seras. "But you know, I'm glad he did. At least he knew when to show some mercy..."

Alucard let out a soft chuckle. "Mercy..." Alucard wasn't worthy of mercy. With the unspeakable atrocities he committed, the women and children he impaled, the animalistic behavior he gave toward everybody who didn't think like him, Alucard was beyond redemption. In his eyes, Alucard was not worthy of being saved or spared, yet somehow, Saitama saw something in Alucard that Alucard didn't see in himself. It was the same thing her faithful servant saw in him, the thing that made Seras look up to Alucard like a mentor, and it was because of the light Seras saw hidden underneath all of darkness that Seras would sacrifice her very life just to save his. But what it was that they saw within Alucard, he hadn't the foggiest idea. Perhaps it was something Alucard might look into...

All of a sudden, a faint sound of beeping and footsteps filled the ears of the two vampires. The two vampires walked out of the crater to see what was causing it. Coming up on the horizon, a huge group of people began to pile out from the underground bunker, the panicked chattering spreading like wildfire between them.

"We should leave, policegirl," said Alucard.

"Why?" inquired Seras.

"We're the only two people left in the entire area, and your arm is a dark tentacle. I can't imagine that the people will take that very well."

"I guess so. But what about G-" As an answer to her question, a group of drones dropped down from the air, circling around the motionless and broken teenage cyborg. The drones latched onto Genos with hooks, then in a unified movement, flew Genos up into the air to god-knows-where. "I think he'll be fine," said Alucard.

"Well, alright then..." Seras wrapped her arm around her master's body and gripped him tightly. "Hang on." At first, Alucard didn't understand what she meant, but his question was quickly answered when the two vampires became airborne. Seras bolted across the flat valley at amazing speed, gliding across the air in a fluid motion, appearing like a red bullet flying in the sky. "Keep on going until you make it to the woods," shouted Alucard through the noisy wind whipping their faces. "We need to stay out of sight for now."

"Got it!"

The duo continued their path for about 3 miles, conversation eluding both of them; none of them really knew what to say. The entire ordeal had practically stunned them into states of silence. Finally, after about 3 minutes of this hushed air travel, the thick line of pine trees and the faint sound of streaming water presented itself up ahead.

Seras gradually descended from the air, continuing until she landed a few meters in front of the large forest. Once she landed, Alucard gently pushed himself out of Seras' grasp and started walking into the woods at a very slow pace. But the toll of the battle was heavy; just after a few steps, Alucard limped and almost fell to the ground, until his faithful servant rushed to catch him. Seras looked at his master with worried lines etched in her face. "You're too weak from the battle, master. You need to rest."

A faint moan escaped Alucard's lips. "Must you always insist on assisting me?" he asked.

"Yes, I must."

The policegirl's stubbornness truly had no limit. Alucard sighed and placed his hand on his eyes, while placing his other hand around Seras' shoulders, silently admitting to Seras' support. The policegirl smiled to herself, knowing that she had won, and with that, the two vampires made their way into the woods.

* * *

Above the visible line of sight, shielded by the layer of clouds, several drones were carrying the broken cyborg Genos, who, like the vampires, was also deep in thought about the events that had transpired. Never, in his wildest dreams, could he have imagined such power existed on both sides. A being who could summon a tidal wave of zombies, and a bald man whose punches could wipe an entire city off the face of the Earth. What was his secret? Like the monster said, just regular training couldn't possibly the answer to such unbelievable stores of strength. But...

Something else was nagging him. It wasn't about the fight, the bald man, or that monster Alucard. No, the thing that was bothering him was something much more... ludicrous: that female vampire. Even now, his mind couldn't wrap itself around the unusually sentimental affection she displayed towards his wounds and his wellbeing. Her eyes were windows to a bottomless abyss of evil and mayhem, and her arm was a dark tendril, a demonic manifestation of the evil lurking within her. Nearly everything about her was that of a malicious and bloodthirsty monster, but her personality was that of a innocent, supportive individual who would help anyone she came across. It was a polar opposition between outer and inner personality, this one. Well, it didn't matter anyway; Saitama already killed both of them. He must have; it would be psychotic of him to leave such unbelievably strong monsters loose to roam free.

On the edge of the horizon, hidden underneath the seemingly endless groves that spanned for miles on end, a light blinked on and off. The flying drones began to blink red lights in response; in a slow motion, an opening began to show itself. The drones began to speed up, and after a few seconds, the drones entered the opening. Once the drones entered the opening with Genos' body, the opening quickly began to close. Three rows of lights lit up, revealing a rather small tunnel with gray wall that continued for several hundred meters. At the end of the tunnel, another small hatch began to open up, revealing a gray room with white tiles, dimly lit lights hanging on the ceiling, shining light on a barren room filled with burnt parts and severed wires all over the place. On the floor, several burn marks were present all over. The drones flew to the center of the room where a landing pad was situated, and ever so gently, the drones dropped Genos onto the landing pad. When Genos' body was on the landing pad, the entire room began to light up in a bright light, and a conveyor belt rose up from under the floor. The landing pad slanted, sliding Genos down and onto the conveyor belt, where a hatch door began to open. In the next room, an old man with a dome haircut was typing vigorously on his computer, when his ears picked up the sound of the emergency conveyer belt. Dr. Kuseno turned, and let out a slight gasp when he saw the deplorable condition Genos had brought himself in. He'd been damaged before, but nothing compared to what he was seeing at that moment.

"My word!" Dr. Kuseno typed a few keys on the computer, and immediately, several mechanical arms lowered from the ceiling, and from the floor, an operating platform rose up, positioning itself in a more upright position in the process. Once Genos' body had reached the platform, Dr. Kuseno hoisted Genos up from the ground and properly adjusted the cyborg's body on the platform. With another few taps on the keyboard, the mechanical arms surrounded Genos. Sparks began to fly around the cyborg's body; other mechanical arms extended themselves toward other parts of the room, each of them grabbing different parts and wires for further use.

"What happened to you, Genos?" inquired Dr. Kuseno. "I've never seen you in this bad of a condition! And-" Dr. Kuseno looked on the monitor through Genos' hard-drive and let out a gasp. "You activated your self-destruct sequence?! What kind of monster could bring you to take such a drastic measure as that?!"

"Something that can't even be called a monster," replied Genos. A chill crept up the doctor's spine, hearing Genos make such a statement with such an unwavering tone of voice. "What I fought was... a devil.

"Its name was Alucard. He was a vampire with strength I never thought possible. With ease, he was able to change his form, summon undead beings, control blood to his every whim, and possessed strength and speed unlike anything I've ever seen. But that was all trivial in comparison to his opponent..."

"What do you me "his opponent"? Wasn't that you?"

Genos shook his head. "There was another..." Even now, Genos shuddered at the memory of the monumental feats of strength he witnessed, with goosebumps shivering up his metallic body. "It was a bald man with a rather peculiar costume. He laid waste to the monster with practically nonexistent effort. It was beyond comprehension."

Dr. Kuseno was unnerved at the emotion Genos had in his voice and the vivid description he was giving. Never had he heard Genos describe any opponent in such a way. The magnitude of these warriors truly must have been as astounding as Genos described.

"Doctor, I need to obtain that level of power," spoke Genos, "With that kind of strength, I could eradicate all evil from this world in the blink of an eye."

"I understand," replies Dr. Kuseno. "But right now, that's not the primary issue." Dr. Kuseno walked up to Genos and pried his chest open, revealing the cyborg's energy core. The good doctor grabbed several cords and hooked them up to the machine. He then made his way up to the cyborg's head and opened up his main processing unit, hooking up several small wires in the process. The doctor's chest constricted when he surveyed the extent of his damage; he understood now why Genos activated his self-destruct sequence. His internal processing unit had been decreased to 20% operational. His neural interface had been significantly damaged, delaying any movement at all, and all of his pyrokinetic weaponry had been dismembered beyond functioning capacity. With this kind of damage, Genos was practically dead already. "Genos, I'm going to shut down your internal hard-drive in order to properly survey the extent of the damage. It's going to feel a bit odd at first, but once your mind gets used to it, it will feel like you're in a dream."

"Understood," replied Genos. Dr. Kuseno paced toward Genos head in a worried frenzy. He then said, "Detach cranial protection." Genos' head suddenly freed open, revealing a series of very puzzling computer chips, wires, and processors. Dr. Kuseno tapped a series of buttons inside Genos' head. Instantaneously, the cyborg's entire system powered down, and the bright glow in the teenager's eyes blinked out of existence.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

Tumultuous discord and petrification filled the atmosphere in the underground lair of the Monster Association. Only a few moments ago, the entire HQ violently shook that threatened to collapse the entire structure of the building. It was only thanks to Gyoro Gyoro's quick thinking combined with psychic abilities that the entire room hadn't collapsed on top of them.

"What is going on," said Orochi.

"It was Alucard." Orochi focused his attention on Rannisam and Gyoro Gyoro, who had just spoken and was in a visibly shaken state. "I could sense several thousand energy levels above us that appeared of out of nowhere," said Gyoro Gyoro. "Then, just as fast as they came, they left."

"I could sense a disruption in the space-time continuum," added Rannisam. "I felt an army of undead beings crossing through the very fabric of space."

In his throne, the Monster King was in unrest. Orochi had to admit, he was actually impressed with Alucard. He truly thought his abilities would be of great use in their attack on humanity. But to know he was defeated? Even at his maximum power? His subordinates noticed the minor, believed undeniably present, unease emanating off of Orochi, and it caused both of them to give each other nervous looks. If the Monster King himself was nervous, the gravity of this latest revelation was truly worrisome. "Master? What is the matter?

"Could either of you two sense any other large clusters of energies?" inquired Orochi.

Gyoro Gyoro shook his head. "The only other significantly big group of energies I sensed were the humans hiding in an underground bunker while the city was being attacked."

"We know that the last time he activated his Release Restraint Level 0, it was against an army of a few thousand soldiers, but that wasn't the case here. So if there wasn't any armed militia of soldiers in the city, what reason would Alucard have to release thousands upon thousands of familiars?"

Once Rannisam and Gyoro Gyoro realized the picture Orochi was trying to paint, both of them gasped. "Then that means-"

"Yes." Orochi cut off his subordinate's sentence. "Somehow, Alucard must have been defeated by a hero."

"My god..." Goosebumps ran up Rannisam's skin and Gyoro Gyoro's multiple eyes scrunched in worry. Normally, he wouldn't display such emotion or worry, but a presumably Dragon-level monster with an army at his command defeated single-handedly?

In his throne, the Monster King slammed his armrests and bluntly shouted, "Enough!" The two subordinates looked up to Orochi, whose uneasy facial expression had completely vanished from his face. "This new is of little importance. However, this does mean we need to become more effective at monster recruitment. Gyoro, you will control twenty spy drones."

"But, Master, I already stated before I can only-"

"YOU WILL CONTROL TWENTY SPY DRONES!" The anger and irritation in his voice was so volatile, Gyoro Gyoro actually jumped up out of shock. "To not only recruit more demon and dragon-level monsters, but to find out where the other two monsters from the parallel dimension might be hiding." Gyoro Gyoro could only respond with a small nod.

"And you." Orochi pointed his large, razor-sharp finger to Rannisam. "Your ineptitude demonstrated today has cost me a Dragon-level monster. The only reason I don't kill you now is because of the untapped potential in your abilities. Fail me again, and you won't get another chance. Is that understood?"

"Y-yy-Yes, Ma-ma-Master Orochi," replied Rannisam through petrified stuttering, shaking like a leaf as he spoke.

"I will not have any failures under my rule. Very soon, humanity will burn, and the world of monsters will be born from its ashes."

* * *

Holographic projections shined brightly in the dark room. All around, stacked in piles and jammed into shelves, hundreds upon hundreds of books were spread across the room. On the wall, a chalkboard was hanging, with several crossed out equations and unfinished work written on the black platform. Sitting comfortably in his chair, a lone scientist named Dr. Genus was combing through the Hero Association website, analyzing the most powerful S-class heroes in the Association. But then, while he was calmly sifting through the data, he found out from one of his surveillance drones that Mosquito Girl had been terminated.

"Incinerated, she was? Oh well. She was merely a prototype." On the holographic monitor, he received several photos of the battle that had taken place, including a few clips of video. He clicked through each of the pictures and observed them intently. He let out a faint gasp of surprise when he found out this man could regenerate his body from grievous wounds. "And at such speeds... He's actually managed to exceed the regeneration speed of Subject 66." But what he looked at next managed to snap him out of his calm and composed manner he had taken Mosquito Girl's demise: the man with blood red clothing had suddenly melted into the ground, becoming a black swirling mass of darkness. From this mass of evil, demonic hellhounds lunged for the cyborg. The monster regained his form and appeared in front of the cyborg, decimating him like he was nothing.

"How interesting... His body is able to change shape and form, and not only that, but he gained a significant increase in power through the transformation. I must know more." Dr. Genus clicked on one of the videos, and gasped: the bald man stepped in, and with only a single punch, vaporized him. "What amazing physical prowess."

But the thing that really took the cake, the sold factor that baffled Dr. Genus was, as expected, the army of zombies unleashed from the man in red. Dr. Genus actually stood up from his chair from the sheer disbelief.

"What is that?!" The doctor ran his hands through his hair. "How could he attain such amazing abilities? Is it his genetic code? Has he been surgically modified? I must know!" Dr. Genus looked at the image of the bald man as well, and slyly smirked. "He will make an excellent specimen as well. They'll be brought to the lab, by force, if necessary. With their secrets unveiled, the House of Evolution will finally be able to make the final steps toward human perfection!"

* * *

Tranquility. Peace and tranquility set the scene all around him, the breathtaking awe of the beauty spanning in all directions filling his ears, his nostrils, and his eyes. This was Mother Earth at its finest; the sound of woodpeckers, ducks, pigeons, and many other aviary creatures filled the air. The loud crashing of water falling from a cliff could be heard several hundred meters away. From the waterfall, a river cut through the land, sparkling in the morning sun. Near the mouth of the river basin, a herd of deer gently drank from the crystal-clear water cascading from the waterfall. Below his feet, grass crunched underneath his boots. The man admired the glistening green of the blades of grass, noticing that the grass sparkled in the morning sun, meaning it had rained not too long ago.

The man started a calm walking pace, gazing around him, his lips pursed into a straight line while he continued to observe the allurement of the nature around him. Mosquitoes and flies buzzed around him, some of them attempting to suck the blood from him. But when they stuck their proboscis' down, a pang of pain jolted through their bodies, and they were rewarded with broken proboscises. What was up with this guy? It was like this guy's skin was pure iron.

The man quickly reached the mouth of the basin. He gently placed his lips to the clear cool water. The river water felt cool on his tongue, and a wave of relief filled him as the clear water flowed down his throat. He took several large gulps of water from the basin until his thirst was quench. A few feet away from him, the herd of deer edged closer to the unknown stranger, curious about who he was. The man lifted his head up from the water and shot the deer a stern look. With only that single look, their curiosity instantly vanished, and they ran as fast as they possibly could in the other direction.

The man stood back up; he would have to go to higher ground in order to find out if there were any signs of civilization nearby that he wasn't seeing. He looked up at the top of the cliff that was about 200 meters above him; there was a good spot to do surveillance. The man bent his knees down and bucked his hips. In an instant, the man sprang up from the ground, traveling upward at amazing speed and creating a burst of air pressure. The ground from which he jumped shattered, the shockwaves from his jump fracturing the ground around him in the process. In no more than a few seconds, the man reached the top of the cliff and landed with a soft thud. Had there been anyone around, their hearts would have stopped. Who was he, they would have asked. But what would he have given in response? Only silence.

For this man wasn't actually a man. He was, in fact, a monster, lost in another world, warped to this new reality from some purpose unknown to him and by some entity or force equally unknown to him. It was the werewolf, the second-in-command of Millennium, and Millennium's trump card: The Captain.

The Nazi werewolf didn't think he'd ever get the chance to experience this: freedom. Unbeknownst to everyone outside of Millennium, The Captain was not a willing soldier of this Nazi organization. His entire species had been brought to near-extinction. He was once part of a village of werewolves who'd chosen to live a solitary life in the wilderness of Europe. But despite their solitude, there were still humans who sought to rid their kind, and would do almost anything to achieve that goal. Even though werewolves were naturally stronger than humans, they were still prone to be caught by surprise, and on occasion, their sheer numbers could overwhelm the werewolves. The Captain quickly learned one truth, one simple yet undeniable truth: in order to protect his village, he had to be strong. So that's exactly what he did: since his earliest childhood, he did everything he could to increase his strength, speed, and reflexes as to avoid fatal silver bullets and other silver objects. Unfortunately, it was never enough, and eventually, his entire village was destroyed, leaving only him. And to make matters worse, he was eventually captured by the Nazi Party and handed over to that short, pudgy, abominable Major and his doctor friend, who experimented on him and inserted the FREAK chip. That was more than 50 years ago, and for more than 50 years, he was a prisoner. Yet now, his destiny was once again his own. There was only one thing left that was keeping him tied to Millennium.

The Captain removed his trench coat, revealing his very chiseled chest. Lodged within his ribs was the FREAK chip that forced him into Millennium's servitude. He could never remove it before, for every time he attempted to do so, the Doctor would immediately know and send an extremely high-voltage shock throughout his body. He didn't know how it was possible, but even in his mist form, the chip would still remain. Even suicide was not an option: one, because they made sure to keep anything silver away from him, and two, if they did catch him doing any sort of suspicious activity, the chip would activate and incapacitate him. He couldn't be sure, but he felt that wherever he was, he was somehow out of the doctor's control to activate the chip. However, in the end, there was only one way to be sure.

The Captain morphed his hand, elongating his fingernails into sharp claws. He couldn't remove the chip in his mist form. The only way to do it was to take it out by hand. The werewolf took a deep breath, moved his arm back, and with a quick thrust, stabbed himself in the chest. He began to move his claws around, trying to find where specifically the FREAK chip was. He quickly found it between his third and fourth ribs. The Nazi werewolf's left side of his mouth curved up. He then got a firm grip around the chip, and with one swift movement, ripped the chip right out of his body. Blood began to pour out of his chest, although The Captain's highly resistant body allowed him to feel little-to-no pain.

For a moment, The Captain looked at the chip in the palm of his hand, staring at it, almost finding it hard to believe that he had it in his hands. At last, the wretched piece of technology that'd kept him chained to the evil Nazis was finally out of him. It was almost too good to be true. The Captain crushed the chip in his hand, following up by craning his arm back and throwing the bits of the FREAK chip into the air. And as he watched the broken pieces of this chip fly through the air, it was as if the chains of bondage were finally broken as well. He felt alive, his spirit soaring and his mouth turning upwards for the first time in 50 years. The happiness was now overflowing out of him, in the form of tears. Yes, actual tears were streaming down his cheeks. He simply couldn't help it. The dog was finally off the chain.

* * *

 _That's the end of Chapter 6! I know it's short, but I'm not really used to creating completely new plots and non-fighting circumstances, so this chapter was kind of a challenge for me. I'm also contemplating the direction I'll continue for the next few chapters, so it might take a bit. Anyway, until Chapter 7!_


	7. Hunting Season

_Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up, but I've had a lot of exams and tests to study for, so it hasn't been easy. But anyway, I didn't bail on the story, so that's the important thing. So here it is! Chapter 7 of Monstrum Hominis!_

* * *

On the sidewalk, gum, cigarette butts, and overflowing trash cans dominated the small path of cement. It was the yellow-brick road, but instead of talking trees and wild lions, there were homeless people and feral cats. Walking down this depressing sidewalk, the bald hero who had just finished defeating the King of Vampires was trudging along, the emotional weight of the day weighing him down and further dampening his spirits. Whenever he tried to pet any stray cats for the fun of it, their backs arched and they hissed at Saitama. It wasn't the friendly behavior he needed at the moment. Saitama slapped his head to his forehead.

"How the hell did I get into this? I'm gonna have to hit a local market." He made a mental list of supplies to buy: a toothbrush, toothpaste, some cheap snacks, and deodorant. When he made a turn on the corner of the street, he let out a breath of relief; a Walgreens store was only a few meters away, like a majestic guardian angel who appeared only when needed the most. He briskly increased his pace, and once he made it to the front of the store, the automatic sliding doors moved aside for Saitama. After picking up a basket, he scanned the signs hanging above that indicated the products specific to each aisle. The first aisle he went to was the one with all of the chips and basic snacks. He didn't want to have to degrade himself to surviving solely on Doritos, Tostitos, Coca-Cola products, and microwavable dinners, but at this point, he could only do so much with 60,000 yen, and he had to save as much as possible. He grabbed three largebags of Doritos because it was a three for 540 yen bargain deal, a box of Ritz crackers, and a large bag of Cheetos. For drinks, he grabbed a giant bottle of Fanta, Sprite, and water. The next aisle he went to was the frozen foods section, but he realized that whatever motel he had probably wouldn't have a fridge, so he regrettably walked by it. For the final items on the list, she went to the toiletry section and after scanning every row from top to bottom, he bought the cheapest deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste he could find.

The cashier was a young woman with nose and ear piercings on her face, tattoos all over her arms, and face that showed she didn't want to be there. Saitama walked up to her, but she didn't look up to meet his eyes. It was only when Saitama cleared his throat that she actually acknowledge his existence.

"Hello there..." Saitama put the basket on the countertop, and she began scanning the items with her barcode reader. Saitama tapped his fingers on the countertop, clearly uncomfortable with the awkward silence between the two of them. Preferring not to make eye contact, he continued to tap his fingers on the countertop until the last of the items had been put into plastic bags.

"That'll be 2800 yen," said the cashier.

"Gimme a second." Saitama fished out the money from his wallet, dropping the coins on the counter with a loud thud. The cashier, in return, gave Saitama his groceries and sent him off as she would any other customer.

"Well, cya." The cashier didn't even bother to give him a response. Saitama shrugged his shoulders and exited the premises with a silent march. Now that he had gotten all of the necessities, the next step was to find a cheap motel. Just to be sure there wasn't anything available in sight, he quickly surveyed all of the buildings surrounding him, searching for any signs that said "motel" or any other indicators as such. Unfortunately, no such signs were to be found in this neighborhood.

"Well then, guess I'll have to do this the old fashion way." With a heavy heart and an exasperated sigh, so began the bald hero's quest for lodgings for the night.

* * *

Deep within the confines of the lush greenery near City Z, the two outcast vampires who had just finished one of the most monumental battles in history with only two spectators alive to witness it were quietly relaxing. The duo were positioned near a small, crystal clear pond with a small waterfall quietly crashing down into the pond. In the center of the pond, a mother mallard duck was swimming with her 5 ducklings, and some soft quacks could be heard from them. The sound of woodpeckers pecking their beaks into the wood resonated in their ears, and the quiet buzzing of insects only added to the serene environment enveloped around them. Seras was quietly admiring all of the beautiful and untapped nature, walking around the edge of the pond while her master was lying in rest. Seras bent her knees down and extended her hand toward the ducklings. The mother duck looked at Seras, and immediately swam away from her, the baby chicks following behind her tail. Seras sighed; the young vampire's attention turned back to her master, who was lying on the ground, gazing up into the sky like a child searching for stars in the sky.

"How are you feeling, master?" said Seras.

Alucard gave her a small smile. "I've had better days. Come, take a seat."

Seras gladly accepted his invitation and laid her back on the grass and placed her forearms behind her head.

"Are you tired?"

"Dog-tired. Every muscle in my body is aching. The simple act of turning my head-" Alucard rotated his head just to prove his point, and the nerves in his neck fired pain signals to his brain. "Is a laborious task. Even my regenerative abilities have significantly decelerated. Every ounce of my strength was poured into that battle with Saitama. And..." Alucard's voice trailed off, as his thoughts turned to another matter that had been pestering him. Seras sensed this change of thought. "Master? What is it?"

"During my battle, did you see my increase in power?"

"I don't understand."

"When he eliminated the Baskerville, I was at a loss for what to do. Every single one of my moves were ineffective and shrugged off like they were nothing, and this was while I was at my maximum state of power. I was certain my defeat was at hand. But then, a fiery willpower rose up in me. I was determined to fight to the end, and suddenly, I felt an enormous surge of power rise within me. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced; I truly felt I could level the entire city with my strength."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I theorize that what happened with me and the unusual aura encased around this planet are somehow related."

"Really? Do you think so?"

"It's just a theory at the moment, but it definitely isn't farfetched."

"I see. That would be pretty interesting..." Silence befell the two of them. The next moments were spent stargazing, gazing at the lustrous and densely-star-filled obsidian sky. The sun's rays reflected from the moon's surface created a rather bright illumination that only enhanced the breath-taking environment around them. The young female vampire smiled dreamily while gazing into the sky, when something peculiar caught her eye. On the far edge left of her, there was... another moon.

"Master! Master!" Seras frantically shook her master's shoulder to get her attention.

"What? What is it?"

"Look up there!" Seras pointed to the moon in the sky. Once Alucard's eyes found the moon, he let out a soft gasp. "I don't believe it? A second moon?"

"Well, if there was any doubt before, there isn't any doubt now: this isn't the Earth we know." That feeling sunk in deep for Seras Victoria. She was in a strange land surrounded by unfamiliar people and probably millions of miles away from her home. It felt really lonely.

"Policegirl, I'm feeling quite fatigued. I believe I'll take a well-deserved rest." Alucard stretched his arms out, uncharacteristically yawned, and closed his eyes. Yet while his body was exhausted, his mind was still racing with the thoughts of his battle with Saitama, where they were, where his master was, and what they would do now. Even the teenage cyborg couldn't escape his thoughts. So many things were happening at such a fast pace, his mind just couldn't keep up. But perhaps the most urgent thing going through his brain was understanding the true secret behind Saitama's immeasurable power. To know how he could obtain such raw might without abandoning his humanity like he had and like Anderson had. He just couldn't go on without knowing the truth.

"Saitama... I will find you..." These were the last words Alucard spoke before the Vampire King dozed off into his needed slumber. Seras Victoria looked at his master's motionless body and smiled. The feeling of loneliness inside her faded when she looked at her master. Because it was then that she knew she would never be alone. Her master would be there for her. Forever.

"Good night, master. I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

"Here's your room key, sir." The homeless hero, after about an hour of searching for a place to stay, had finally ended his quest and found some decent lodgings, although if he were brutally honest, "decent" didn't come close. The motel was in the downtown area of City Y, next to several abandoned buildings, tiny local markets, trash all over the ground, and a few stray cats that weren't too keen on human contact, which is why his forearm now had some small claw marks. He hoped to god the cat didn't have rabies or anything like that, because the thought of getting shots in his stomach was enough to make him queasy.

Inside the motel wasn't much better. The lounge area was full of dilapidated furniture, a barely-rotating fan, and a clerk who was actually smoking. What kind of business allowed for workers to smoke while working? He was about ready to walk right on out of there, but he didn't want to waste another hour searching for another motel, and decided to just suck it up and work with what he had. So that was how he ended up with the last remaining room available on floor 2, room 18. The elevator door slowly opened, and he grimaced when he saw a stain on the floor of the elevator. "Of course..." Saitama walked into the elevator, being careful to avoid the stain. He began whistling to himself as the elevator hummed to life and brought him up to the second floor. Once the elevator doors opened, he walked out and looked to see where his room was. After about 2 turns and 80 steps, he finally came across his room. He slid the key into the slot, and he hesitantly slid the door open, getting ready for the worst possible outcome. But, it turned out to actually be acceptable. The inner light was already turned on, and he could clearly see a double bed a box tv with bunny ears, a cabinet on the right-hand side of the bed, and a long lamp on the other side. He turned to his right and looked inside the bathroom; the shower curtains were pretty stale in terms of design, and the sink was only about 10 inches wide and 5 inches long. Saitama turned the faucet, and the water began running, albeit with very low pressure. When he turned the other lights on, he noticed there were more stains on the floor. "That's not awful..." He plopped right on the bed, but he instantly felt something gooey on his hand. "Aw, please no..." He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was, but it was pointless. He looked at the bed, and there was a wet spot right where he put his hand.

"GROSS!" Saitama clenched his fists in rage, and almost threw the briefcase at the wall, but at the last moment, he stopped himself, knowing that he'd probably break through all of the walls of the motel if he chucked this thing as hard as he could.

So once Saitama unpacked everything he needed, he undressed and stepped into the shower in order to calm his nerves down. As he felt the warm water rushing down his naked body, loosening some of the knots in his muscles and relaxing his entire body, he digested the entirety of the days events. It was pretty hard knowing he didn't have a home. AGAIN! Only this time, all of his stuff had been destroyed, and the only items he still had were in a single briefcase. Now he was forced to live on 60,000 yen, with only about 150,000 yen in his bank account, sleeping in a bed with goddamn cum stains and cheap motel soap and shampoos. His head fell down in shame, and he grimaced; surrounding the drain, there were long hairs and short hairs from who-knows-who floating around near his feet. Saitama almost hurled, but he put his fist to his mouth to stop himself. Saitama walked to the other end of the shower until all of the hairs went down the drain.

The hero quickly finished his shower, got the toothpaste and toothbrush, and proceeded to brush his teeth. Once he was finished with that, he carefully tucked himself into bed.

"Well, since it's only 10:00..." Saitama grabbed the briefcase and fished out his Nintendo DSI. "Might as well start catching them all." While Saitama began his virtual adventure, the new adventure Saitama had embarked on today with the many monumental occurrences and revelations, both large and benign. What new adventures would tomorrow bring, he would just have to wait and see.

* * *

While one warrior had begun his slumber, another warrior was sprinting, livened by the moon's rays. Millennium's top soldier, The Captain, was sprinting across the land at amazing speeds. He was in pursuit of... well, that was just it. He didn't know what he was looking for anymore. He hadn't a clue where he was or what he would do. Although he regained his freedom, he didn't know what to do with it.

His senses picked up something closing in on him; a vampire. It must have Alucard. The Captain jumped up into the sky to get a better view of the ground below him, and sure enough, he spotted someone closing in on him. The Captain performed a series of midair front flips and was preparing to strike Alucard in the chest. But wait... The Captain quickly realized this wasn't Alucard. Who would have thought the first face he found would be a familiar face: it was the face of Walter C. Dornez. At the last second, The Captain changed his trajectory, missing Walter's chest by around a foot. "Oh, it's you..." Walter greeted The Captain with a cold indifference, staring at him with serious, lifeless eyes; even though they were now part of the same organization, Walter still had bitter memories of his defeat at his hands.

"Do you have any sort of idea where we might be?" asked Walter.

The Captain merely shrugged his shoulders as a response.

"Well, whatever happened to us, it would be safe to assume it happened to Alucard and Seras as well. In a way, luck befell me with this sudden turn of events; If I had fought Alucard when I did, I would have most likely lost..."

The Captain gave Walter a confused look, but, being the silent type he was, gave no question as to what Walter meant.

"The surgery I underwent was rushed," continued Walter, disregarding whether or not The Captain even wanted to hear this, "As much as it pains me to admit, had I faced Alucard, my body would have most likely deteriorated within moments of fighting. The only reason I'm able to retain my current power is because I was left unconscious for what I assume is around 16 hours, giving my body enough time to properly adjust and fully integrate these surgical upgrades into my nervous system. I can feel the difference.

"So..." Walter looked around at where they were one more time, noting the vast emptiness, the quiet nature surrounding them. Like The Captain, Walter was unsure of what they would do; naturally, the most logical option to pursue would be to search for The Major and reunite with Millennium, and then resume his goal to kill Alucard once and for all. But...

Walter covered his eye with his hand as the memory of that fateful moment came back to him. The moment when Walter revealed his duplicitous nature to his best friend, his master, and a young vampire girl. Although he hid it, the looks on Integra's face and Seras' face had struck a cord inside his now vampiric heart. He was one of the only family either of those two had, and he abandoned them for his own selfish gains.

But they were necessary, another part of his brain argued. Walter's legacy on this planet would be to singlehandedly eliminate the King of Vampires, to cement himself as a true reaper to the core, and to be part of something that the world would truly applaud. That was the entire reason he had betrayed the Hellsing Organization and became a covert operative for Millennium.

"Look at yourself..." Walter unintentionally spoke his thoughts and stared at his hands, then his entire body, desperately trying to find closure or an answer to this strife. His internal values of affection for Seras, Integra, and, however slight, Alucard, were conflicting with his external values of pride and glory, making him sick to his stomach. What was he going to do? What could he do? What was left for there to do? "GRAHHHH!" His confused, swirling vortex of emotions could no longer be bottled up inside him, and the vampire butler forcefully punched the ground, creating a large hole in the ground that spanned a few feet in diameter and formed fissures in the process. At this point, his colleague's presence was unregistered and forgotten by Walter. It was because of this that his eyes widened in surprise when he felt a hand lightly take hold of his right shoulder. "What..."

The stern, expressionless look in the werewolf's crimson eyes was replaced by something else, a new emotion never seen by Walter before. He wasn't positive, but he was rather sure this emotion in his eyes was... sympathy. It was as if The Captain had some understanding of the struggle building inside of Walter, but was that even possible? He was the second-in-command of Millennium, a group of sadistic, monstrous fiends who killed men, women, and children with absolute glee. What did he know about actual human emotions?

The Captain gently pushed him off of his knees and got him back on his feet. Walter made no motion to stop him, the surprise of such unexpected support from someone as unlikely as the Captain preventing him from doing anything in rejection. The Captain nudged his head, as if silently telling Walter to follow him, and proceeded to break out in a fast sprint. Walter decided to go along with it, and trailed alongside the werewolf at equal speed.

"Where are we going?" shouted Walter through the loud winds. The Captain lifted his finger up and pointed to a city illuminated with bright lights.

"What do you plan on us doing there?"

For this question, the werewolf gave but a simple shrug of his shoulders. Walter's perplexity rose; who was the man behind that stoic mask? Was he really just the cold-blooded silent killer who had nearly killed him half a century ago, or was he more? He supposed he'd just have to find out.

* * *

In the poor urban sector of Y-city, the sounds of engines hummed on the street. People were engaged in small talk, some vending their products, and a few others out to make a penny on the street. The crack of dawn shined its light through Saitama's window. "Ughhh..." The bald hero turned his body the other way to keep the sunlight out of his eyes. He continued to rest for another 10 minutes, but eventually, his brain decided he'd had enough sleep, and kicked the rest of his body into shape for a new day. Saitama stretched his jaws out and yawned loudly, stretching his arms out in the air at the same time.

"How long was I out?" Saitama checked the time on his digital clock, and saw it was 9:00 AM. He tried to remember at what time he went to bed last night, and he recalled playing for more than an hour on the Nintendo DSI XL. Saitama had to admit, the game was actually more fun than he thought. He chose Totodile as his starter, went through Cherrygrove City, beaten the thug that had stolen the Pokemon from Professor Elm, and made it to Violet City. "Where did I stop again?"

Saitama turned on the Nintendo and opened his saved state. The game loaded his file, and his character, whom he had chosen to name Saitama because he didn't have any better ideas, was at the top of Bellsprout Tower. His Totodile was level 11, his Mareep was level 9, and his Zubat was level 8. "Alright now, time to kick your ass Falkner!"

But just before the hero could resume his virtual journey, a loud knocking came from his door. Saitama let out a groan of annoyance and confusion. "Who the hell is it?" said Saitama. Was it the cleaning service? If it was, then he was going to start a massive tirade of how they could leave cum stains on the bed.

Saitama thrusted the door open. "Have I got a bone to pick with you..." Saitama's voice cut off when he realized it wasn't the cleaning service, but instead, a face he'd seen very recently.

"It's you. Uhhhh..."

"Genos!" The teenage cyborg and one of the only souls who'd seen the legendary battle that took place in Z-city yesterday was standing at Saitama's door, eager to learn all that he could about him and to request a single thing from him.

"How'd you find me?"

"I knew that you wouldn't be in Z-city since it was destroyed in your battle yesterday, so I assumed you would move to the closest city to find a new home. So I then tracked the highest energy signature in the city, leading me to this motel, where I then asked what room you were staying in."

"Cool..."

"May I come in?"

"Sure, what the hell..." Saitama opened the door fully for Genos, and the teenage cyborg eagerly walked in to his motel room. Genos took in the less-than-exemplary conditions of Saitama's new living quarters with surprise and disgust. To think that a man who had obtained the power of a god would be living in a slum like this was unbelievable. "May I sit down?" said Genos.

"Sure, let's sit on the floor." Genos did as Saitama said, and sat cross-legged on the rug. Saitama took the same position as Genos and sat opposite of him with a few feet of distance between the two of them.

"So..." Saitama attempted to break the ice, "How're you doing?"

"I'm alive, thanks to you."

"Hang on." A realization just occurred to Saitama. "You're back in one piece?"

"Yes. My body is cybernetic, so most of my parts can be replaced if damaged."

"Gotcha. So anyway, why'd you come here?"

Genos straightened his body, getting ready for the question he'd come all this way to ask. "I would like to be your disciple."

A moment of pause betook the bald hero. Did Saitama hear him correctly? His disciple? Did people even do that anymore? He thought that was some sort of title for like ninjas and samurais and stuff like that.

"My disciple, you said?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Why, you ask? It's a very simple reason: to become as strong as you.

"Four years ago, I was still a regular human living with my family in a small town."

"Um, I didn't ask for a life story..." said Saitama, but his comment went unheeded, and the cyborg continued. "Although we were poor, we were still able to scrape by. We lived a happy and peaceful life, until that fateful day when our town was attacked by a cyborg. The machine brought ruin to everything in sight: schools, parks, shops, even my house were all destroyed. It even took the lives of all my family members, and I was left barely clinging onto life. It was then that Dr. Kuseno, a scientist of justice who was on a mission to stop the rampaging cyborg and end his destructive reign, found me. Once he took be back to his laboratory, I begged him to give me body modification surgery to make me better, faster, stronger. The good doctor accepted my request, and I was soon reborn as a cyborg who fights for justice. I made a promise to the doctor that I would terminate the evil cyborg and restore peace to this world..."

"I see." Saitama expected the story to be over, but Genos continued talking. "It's been four years since that day, and I wander from town to town, eliminating evil wherever it may lie, but despite my best efforts, I am still unable to come upon any clues that might lead me to the whereabouts of the rogue cyborg." Saitama's patience was wearing down by the second, his body fidgeting and moving anxiously.

"Yesterday, for the first time as a hero, I fought an opponent I could not defeat. That creature's strength and abilities were were simply overwhelming, and to see you singlehandedly stare into the face of a river of death, it was beyond comprehension. If you had not been there when you were, my fate would have undoubtedly been sealed. You saved the very same life that had been saved by Dr. Kuseno, and I feel an immense weight of responsibility to continue my search for the cyborg and eliminate evil wherever it may lie. But to do that, I need the immeasurable level of strength you displayed before me so that when I encounter that machine again, I will be ready. For my friends, my family, and my town, I need to destroy that cyborg and avenge their deaths, and that is why I have come before you today: only you can help me in my-"

"ENOUGH, GODDAMMIT!" His patience had been broken, and the bald hero let out an outburst of rage, however inappropriate it might have been, but he simply couldn't help it. "SHORTEN YOUR STUPID STORY TO 20 WORDS OR LESS!"

The outburst caught Genos by surprise, but he was quick to recover from it. "Very well then, here is the short version, as per your request.

"Please teach me the way to become as strong as you are. I beg of you." Saitama's angry face disappeared, and his face was now serious and hardened while me mulled over this cyborg's words. A few seconds of silence passed by until Saitama spoke again. "Hey Genos."

The teenage cyborg immediately straightened himself. "Yes!"

"How old did you say you were?"

"19 years old, sir!"

"So young... I have no doubt you'll surpass me in no time."

"Do you really think so?"

The bald hero nodded. "I'm 25 years old now, but I didn't even begin my training until I was 22. But I don't think I'm in the financial state to be training anyone right now."

"What do you mean?" inquired Genos.

"Look at this place!" replied Saitama with an aggravated tone of voice, "It's filthy! This is the cheapest place I could afford after my apartment was destroyed in the battle yesterday, and I'm still neck-deep in debt from my last few apartment rents. I've gotta find a job in the next few days, or else I'm screwed."

"That's unacceptable! I'll notify the good doctor, and-" He stopped his sentence mid-way when his sensors picked up a high energy level coming straight for them. Genos jumped off of the ground and lunged toward the door. "High speed object approaching.

"It is here."

* * *

The morning sun gently beamed down onto the forests of Z-city, where the two monsters brought into this world from another dimension were quietly resting on the grass, in a state of deep, peaceful sleep.

Loud thumps. The two vampires' serene sleep was put to an end when their sensitive ears picked up on the sound of thundering footsteps honing in.

"Master!" Seras jolted up from her spot, but her master was slower to get off the ground. Seras rushed to bring her master to his feet, looking on with concern all over her face. "What's wrong, master?"

"My body hasn't recuperated," replied Alucard, "Being pushed beyond my limits like that will take me at least a few days to fully recover from."

"But I need your help! Something big is closing in, and I'm not sure I can handle it by myself!"

"Now calm down. We don't know it's a threat."

The ground momentarily shook, and moments after, the sunlight was blocked by some object. Seras and Alucard looked up and saw a large, humanoid figure hovering about 100 feet in the air. The unknown creature landed on the ground with a loud thud, creating two feet-shaped holes in the ground and throwing the two vampires off balance. The vampires quickly realized that this wasn't a human at all: it was a humanoid lion monster. The monster stood at 20 feet in height, with a full mane and a tail. His claws were like butcher knives, and his eyes were bright red, only serving as further testament to his monstrous nature. On both his wrists and ankles were bracelets, and on his biceps were two bracers. He wore a black shirt, animal furs around his shoulders, and a leopard-skin cloth around his waist, secured by heavy chains and a belt with a lion-head buckle.

"Greetings, prey."

* * *

 _And that's a wrap, folks! Just when the action is going to start, you find out it's already over! Now, I hope the interactions between Walter and the Captain weren't OOC or anything, because I'm not quite sure where to take Walter or the Captain's characters from this point on. This is some new territory for me, and I don't want to make it seem like too fluffy or plaid or anything. I want to let it digest, let the story flow, and I want to do it with some originality. Well, until Chapter 8!_


	8. The Beast Unleashed

_And Chapter 8 is up folks! Sorry for the long waiting time. I just sorta lost the passion for the story momentarily and was also stuck on creating dialogue for the characters. But hey, at least I didn't abandon the story! So after the long wait, here it is! Chapter 8 of Monstrum Hominis!_

* * *

"Greetings, prey."

As the giant monster gazed over them, two more warriors came running up at his side. One of the warriors appeared as a large mole, with an odd symbol in the center and very large claws to dig through the ground. The other was a humanoid frog with large eyes, a white stomach and throat, black spots on his back and arms, and a scar across his face. "So you were the two who defeated Mosquito Girl?" bellowed the giant lion, "Color me disappointed." His voice was deep and intimidating, as expected from a monster of his stature.

"Who are you? And how do you know about us?" shouted Seras.

"I am the Beast King, and I am the second most powerful fighter in the House of Evolution, an organization predicated upon the advancement of the human race toward a new, evolved era! The monster you fought yesterday was just a prototype, a mere test to see her level of power."

"So what do you want with us?" said Alucard, "Have you come to avenge your comrade's death?"

The Beast King scoffed. "Not a chance. I have been sent here to collect you two for evaluation."

This last statement caught both of them by surprise. "What do you mean examination?"

"Dr. Genus has taken an interest in your abilities, particularly yours, and other comrades have been sent to capture the bald man and cyborg you fought yesterday." The Beast King pointed his long, sharp finger toward Alucard. "So are you going to come quietly, or are we going to do this the hard way."

The two vampires were not intimidated, not in the slightest, and the two of them took defensive stances. "We wouldn't have it any other way," said Alucard.

"HAHAHAHA!" The Beast King let out a hardy laugh. "What a foolish answer! It's time I teach you your place. Now Frog Man, attack!"

"Time to get Ribbidy Ribbidy Wrecked, freaks!" Frog Man unsheathed his swords and sprung forward at Alucard like a frog. Alucard smirked; the king of vampires used his dark powers to summon his sword and parried the mutant frog's swords. Then, Alucard elbowed Frog Man in the stomach, causing him to yell out in pain, and using his sword, he cleaved Frog Man's head straight off his body.

"Hah hah hah..." laughed Alucard, "What a weakling he was. Is this the best you can do?" Suddenly, Alucard felt two paws with giant claws wrap around his ankles. He looked up, and realized that the giant mole had vanished. In less than a second, his entire body was dragged underground until only his head was above the surface.

"Excellent work, Ground Dragon!" said Beast King. The mutant mole dug out of the ground a few feet beside Alucard, chuckling in sadistic delight. "Well I just dug his grave for him, but then again, it was already dug for him!"

"Master!" Seras ran up to her master's side and attempted to dig him out, but Ground Dragon jumped out of the ground and slashed Seras across her chest, causing her to stagger back. "Sorry cutie," said Ground Dragon, "But you're not gonna get him out of the ground! You'll have to get through me first!"

"Is that right?" replied Seras, "So be it..." Seras sprinted up to Ground Dragon, and the mutant mole was unable to react to the female vampire's superior speeds, and in an instant, he was attacked and cut apart by Seras' sharp tentacles. In less than a few seconds, Ground Dragon had dozens of cuts and scars across his body, and he fell to the ground unconscious, bleeding out.

"Here you go, master. Sorry if this hurts." Seras grabbed her master's head and with a mighty tug, pulled Alucard out of the ground. Alucard dusted all of the dirt off of his body, and turned his attention to the only remaining warrior left to fight.

"I'm going to need your help here, policegirl," said Alucard, "I'm still in pain from my last battle, so I might falter."

"No problem, master. I'll always be there to help."

Alucard shone a genuine smile. "I know you will. Now let's take care of this beast."

* * *

"It is here."

From out of nowhere, a giant fighter ripped its way from the ceiling, crashing down and landing on the bed, crushing it into two.

"Aw damn it!" said Saitama, "I hope I'm not liable for this or anything!" The giant cyborg turned its attention to the two heroes and punched them with great intensity. Genos was sent crashing into the wall, destroying the face of the hotel room and sending him into the empty street. Genos rubbed his head in slight pain, but Saitama brushed off the attack and stood up completely unharmed. "What's up with the metal guy?"

"Greetings, fools!" A new voice resonated in the air. Genos and Saitama turned to their right, and they saw a large humanoid creature with many insect qualities. He was encased in a segmented, thorny exoskeleton, with clawed feet and serrated, scythe-like forelegs, similar to those of a praying mantis. Mandibles protruded on each side of his mouth, and the top of his skull was completely transparent, revealing his brain. "I am Kamakyuri, the mutant insect warrior and one of the strongest members of the House of Evolution, an organization dedicated to the evolution of humanity! And this is Slugerous!" Another warrior appeared from behind the insect monster. This creature Slugerous is a humanoid slug. He has a black-spotted, very slug-like torso and head, and his eyes stuck out of his head like two tentacles.

"We have come to capture you, bald man!" bellowed the giant fighter. Genos' eyes widened as he observed the fighter in detail. His body is protected by full plate armor adorned with spikes on its shoulders, knee pads, and gauntlets. The armor's belt buckle resembles a gorilla's face, and the chest plate features a custom patch featuring the letters 'A' and 'G' arranged in a diamond shape. "Could this be the same cyborg..."

"Come quietly or suffer the wrath of Armored Gorilla!"

"Master Saitama, I will fight the cyborg! You can handle the other two!" Saitama shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, whatever you want."

Genos nodded and jumped up, striking Armored Gorilla across the face with his right fist. Armored Gorilla countered the blow and struck Genos at his side, sending him back into the road, and the simian cyborg jumped to follow the teenage cyborg.

"So..." Saitama turned to face the other two warriors and gave them a blank stare. "You two ready to do this?"

The insect mutant was taken aback by his calm demeanor in the face of a powerful warrior such as himself, and felt rage bubbling up inside of him. "I'm going to slice you up with my claws!" Kamakyuri launched himself at Saitama and attempted to slice him up with his extremely long claws, but Saitama dodged them, all-the-while bearing an extremely bored and uninterested face. The lack of facial expression only served to increase his anger, and he lifted both his claws into the air and jabbed down, cracking the road and splintering it into several pieces. The force caused the road to crack several meters, but unfortunately for the insect mutant, Saitama dodged it.

"Yea, no. The first gym leader in Heartgold is tougher than this." Saitama nonchalantly punched Kamakyuri in the center of his chest, causing green liquid and mechanical parts to go spilling out everywhere. A few meters behind him, Slugerous was shaking like a leaf, staring in utter shock as his comrade's lifeless corpse was lying on the ground. Saitama turned his head to face him, and the slug mutant jumped up in terror.

"NO NO NO! I GIVE UP! I'M JUST A LOW-LEVEL GRUNT! I DON'T EVEN LIKE WORKING WITH THEM! IT SUCKS!"

Saitama squinted his eyes for a moment, and after a few seconds, he let out a quiet hum and loosened his gaze. "Don't do anything bad from now on, OK? Don't make me regret it!"

"I WON'T! I PROMISE!" Slugerous sprinted in the other direction, although with his small legs, it wasn't sprinting so much as it was trotting.

"Now let's see what's going on with Genos..." Saitama's attention was placed on the battle between Genos and Armored Gorilla, and from what he saw, they were on equal footing with the most part, with Genos having a slight upper hand thanks to his increased speed and incineration cannons. Armored Gorilla swung his arm at Genos, but the teenage cyborg caught it with both of his hands. Genos kicked Armored Gorilla in the chin, causing Armored Gorilla to stagger midair.

"Machine Gun Blows!" Genos threw a fast chain of punches, except this time, his rage began building. Armored Gorilla was completely overwhelmed by Genos' fast combo move, and little by little, his armor was beginning to dent. Genos followed up his attack by kicking Armored Gorilla in the head, knocking his helmet off and revealing his gorilla head. Genos did a front flip and kicked Armored Gorilla downward on the head, causing Armored Gorilla to be slammed into the ground. "Now to finish this!" Genos extended his palm and fired an incineration cannon at point-blank range, ripping through the simian cyborg's chest and crippling him beyond fighting capability.

"Good job Genos." Saitama lightly jogged over to the teenage cyborg's side to congratulate him. "So..." Saitama looked at Armored Gorilla. "What're we gonna do about him?"

For the moment, Genos ignored Saitama. "Now, I have a question for you. Answer it, or you will be eliminated. It is your choice."

"WAIT WAIT WAIT!" Before Genos could finish off his opponent, Armored Gorilla quickly interrupted him. "I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING, JUST DON'T KILL ME!" The cyborg's mechanical voice had disappeared, replaced by a regular, cowardly voice pleading for mercy. "What happened to the robot voice?" said Saitama

"I just talked that way to sound cool."

* * *

"Now let's take care of this beast." Alucard sheathed his sword and instead grabbed his two pistols, aiming them at Beast King and firing three rounds from each pistol. But to his shock, Beast King was able to evade all of the shots despite his bulky size. The Beast King cackled at the monster's sad attempts to kill him with his pistols. "Conventional weaponry cannot work on the Beast King! When a lion gets shot in the wild, he will not be taken down with a single bullet! He will fight with all of his might and kill the pathetic poacher despite his injuries. And today, you are that pathetic poacher!"

Alucard grunted, and continued to fire several rounds from his two pistols, but despite this, the Beast King was able to dodge everything fired at him. Suddenly, the Beast King began to move forward while avoiding the blows, and slammed Alucard in the gut. The force of the blow caused him to fly several meters up and crash into the upper portion of the trees.

"Master!" Seras jumped up and kicked the Beast King across his right cheek. The great beast stumbled momentarily, but was quick to recover from the blow. The mighty mutant looked down at the female vampire and viciously smirked. "A sneak attack! Done like a true predator! However-" Beast King arrogantly puffed his chest up and flexed his very large muscles. "Against the king of the jungle, it is useless!" Seras jumped up again and struck the mutant lion with a series of kicks and punches.

Up in the tree lines, Alucard shook his head and quickly regained consciousness. Alucard had to admit, this creature's power wasn't too terrible, and in his current weakened state, he couldn't take too many of those blows. But hold on...

Alucard looked down and realized the Beast King was completely preoccupied with Seras, leaving himself wide open to attack. The vampire king smiled in delight and aimed his two pistols straight at the beast's head.

"Farewell, Beast King!" Alucard pulled the triggers, but to his shock, nothing came out of the barrel. He pulled them a few more times, but there was still nothing. "GRAAHHH!" Alucard yelled out in frustration: he ran out of bullets! To make matters worse, he no longer had any extra rounds, and there was no one here who could make more. This meant he'd have to either find entirely new guns, or he'd have to do close-range combat. Knowing his servant was struggling and knowing this wasn't the time to ponder such things, he put his pistols away and leaped down to assist Seras.

Seras used her tentacle and whipped the Beast King's chest. The Beast King caught the tendril and threw it to the opposite side, causing Seras to be thrown into the ground. Then, before he knew it, Alucard barreled him with a kick straight to his stomach. The force of the kick sent the Beast King back a few meters, but the blow wasn't able to deal any lasting damage, and the Beast King slammed Alucard down with his fist. Alucard landed on his feet, and jumped backward to stand alongside his servant.

"This monster's strong," said Seras.

"If I were at full power, I could handle him," stated Alucard, "But now, I'm just not sure."

The Beast King bellowed. "I've allowed you to have your fun, but play time is over!" The Beast King's eyes began to fill with bloodlust, and his body began to tense, which likewise caused the vampires to tense up in uneasy preparation for what was to come.

"NOW PREPARE TO WITNESS THE TRUE POWER OF THE ALMIGHTY BEAST KING!" The mutant lion's body began to grow. His claws grew about 3 inches, and his hands shot out to about twice their size. His chest pumped up like a balloon, causing his shirt to be completely ripped off. The bracelets on both his wrists and legs were shattered from the increase in muscle mass, and his mane grew about a foot in size so it was covering his shoulders and upper back.

"Get ready, policegirl!"

"LION SLASH!" Beast King slashed the air, but the force of the strike caused huge shockwaves that ripped apart several trees in front of him and blew back the two vampires. The mutant sprinted forward and attempted to pare down the two vampires, but they were able to narrowly dodge his attacks, albeit with great difficulty.

"Master, I don't think I can keep this up for long!" shouted Seras.

"Just stay on your toes!" replied Alucard.

"Impressive for prey such as yourselves!" shouted Beast King, "But let's see you dodge this!

"LION SLASH METEOR POWER SHOWER!" Beast King unleashed an unbelievably quick and powerful set of slashes, and this time, Seras and Alucard were unable to avoid it. In mere seconds, the two vampires felt the lion's claw marks tear through their bodies, ripping them up and drawing massive amounts of blood. Their faces were carved up, the flesh hanging out in the air, with some pieces falling off the ground.

"HAHAHA!" The Beast King laughed in delight at the sight of his prey broken and on the brink of death. The mutant lion began to walk toward the two vampires, shrinking back down to his original size. The young vampire Seras barely had the strength to lift her head up and see her master's unconscious and beaten body on the ground. "Master..."

"Such is the fate of all the prey that comes to face the Beast King!" The Beast King curled his hand into a fist and punched Seras in the face, knocking her into sweet unconsciousness.

* * *

"Well, that's pretty disappointing." In the densely populated city, Saitama and Genos were standing over the broken body of Armored Gorilla, who had just been defeated by the teenage cyborg. "So what're we gonna do with him?" said Saitama.

"I have some questions I have for you," said Genos, ignoring Saitama for the time being. "And if you don't answer them, I'll eradicate with my incineration cannon!"

The cybernetic primate immediately yelped out in panic. "NO NO NO I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING!"

"Let's start with why you came after us," said Saitama, interjecting Genos' interrogation, "And who you're working for!"

"I'm the third strongest fighter of the House of Evolution, an organization dedicated to the evolution of humanity. This organization is led by the great Dr. Genus."

"What now?"

Armored Gorilla's expression softened as he began to speak. "Long ago, there existed an astonishingly brilliant young scientist. Using his immense intelligence, he managed to gain great achievements for the world. However, after all of his accomplishments, he became disillusioned with the world as saw it for what it was. Even though the public showered him with praise and admiration for the intricacies of his mind and all of the advancements he made, none of his ideas or theories received even the slightest approval or support from the scientific community. For the doctor, his ultimate goal became the artificial evolution of humanity; that was the only dream he ever had, the one thing he yearned to achieve above all his other achievements. Alas, Dr. Genus received no support whatsoever despite his amazing brainpower and all his success. But that did not hamper his will to fulfill his dream, and so he began to devote all of his time to research. For decades, he did researched in solitude, and then it happened: at the age of 70, Dr. Genus's experiments finally yielded the results he had waited for for so long. The first thing the doctor did with this new discovery was restore his body to the prime of his youth. Next, he created an army of genetic clones to assist his endeavors. He named his organization the House of Evolution, and with his clones, he conducted countless experiments on animals, creating entirely new species of animals. His subjects then shifted to human subjects-"

"THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG!" Armored Gorilla's eyes widened when Saitama interrupted his story. Saitama let a sigh of exasperation and ran his hand through his nonexistent hair. "What the hell has this got to do with you and your friends coming to my hotel and trying to kidnap me? Just get to the point!"

Genos' eyes darkened, and he lifted his hand again to finish Armored Gorilla off. "My master is a very busy man and doesn't have time for long stories like this. Summarize your purpose here in 20 words or less!"

The simian cyborg slightly grimaced, but then closed his eyes in apology. "Of course, my bad. Anyway, after watching your fight with the vampires, he's become interested in your body and the vampires."

"Huh," said Saitama, "Sorry to say, but I'm not into guys." A comical sweat drop fell down Armored Gorilla's face. "That is not what he meant," said Genos, "He is referring to your unmatched physical prowess and how you've surpassed normal human limitations. In an attempt to understand it, he will attempt to capture you and experiment on you, and unless he is stopped, he will undoubtedly attempt this again."

"Hold on." Saitama's attention was now focused on the last words the gorilla said. "What did you say about the vampires?" asked Saitama.

"Oh. Well, after seeing their regenerative abilities and enhanced physical strength, he sent the Beast King, the 2nd strongest fighter of the House of Evolution, to capture them."

"Is that right?" said Saitama, "Well, after seeing how powerful those two were and how weak you and your friends are, I'd say they'll be fine."

"We must not allow this madman a free hand!" Genos was determined to not let his master be tested on like a guinea pig, "We must attack him before he can strike again!"

Saitama's face darkened, and his brown eyes let out a dark luster. "Let's do it."

Genos nodded. "Yes!" His serious expression turned into shock when he felt his master's footsteps going away from him. "Now?"

"Uh-huh." Saitama lifted a white flyer with pictures of food and percentages. "There's a big sale on tomorrow, we gotta do it now. Can't afford to miss it."

"Master!" Genos went running to his master, leaving Armored Gorilla all by himself. The cybernetic primate frowned at all of this; a head-on attack like this would be very dangerous, especially with their impressive power. "This doesn't look good. Better warn the doctor." The top of Armored Gorilla's head popped open, revealing a small satellite dish. The satellite craned up as he attempted to track the signal to the base, when Genos came back and angrily said, "Hey you!" Armored Gorilla jumped up in panic, and the top of the head covered up the satellite. "I have one last question!" His palm was burning bright orange in one hand, and the flyer for the food sale was in the other. "The House of Evolution's cyborg development, did it begin over 4 years ago? And if it did, have any of the cyborgs gone rogue or destroyed any towns?"

Armored Gorilla momentarily pondered Genos' question, and then replied, "I'm not quite sure, but I'm the House of Evolution's only combat cyborg, and I haven't destroyed any towns as you said."

Genos' stern gaze didn't falter for one moment. He stared at Armored Gorilla for a few more seconds, trying to see any hint of deceit in his eyes, but found none, so Genos dropped his hand down.

"Let's go, master."

* * *

"Uggggghhhhhh..." Her brain was pounding, and her body was aching. The female vampire Seras Victoria stirred out of her short-lived slumber, and she was met with a bright light situated above her, causing her to flinch. She was in a pitch-black room that seemed to span for dozens of meters. She rubbed her head; well, she tried, but unfortunately for her, her hands were tied down to a metal table. "What happened?" Seras attempted to remember the events that ranspired, and recalled her and her master's defeat at the hands of the Beast King. Seras gasped; her master! She looked around, and to her right, she saw her master lying unconscious on a metal table, his hands and feet restrained just like her.

"Master!" shouted Seras, "Wake up!" The king of vampires lifted his head, and his eyelids fluttered open, squinting at the bright light above him. "Huh? What?" Alucard took in the surroundings and looked at his apprentice. "Policegirl! Are you alright?" asked Alucard.

"I'm fine," replied Seras," I've already healed from the damage I took. And you?"

Alucard looked down and saw a few deep scars still present from the Beast King's special move. "My body is still in pain, but I'll manage."

"Where are we? I can't see anything in this darkness."

Alucard's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and his mouth curved down. "If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say we're in the headquarters of the House of Evolution."

"So you're awake." Alucard and Seras bolted their heads when they heard a voice from within the darkness in front of them. Up on the ceiling, dozens of lights flashed to life, revealing everything hidden in the darkness. The room was about 20 x 20 meters, filled with dozens of vats with some sort of orange liquid and deformed creatures in each and every one of them. On the far right, there were dozens of computers with several numbers running on the screens, and on the left, there was a large table with several papers and schematics lying there in an unorganized manner. In the center of the room, there was a young man staring at both of them. He wore glasses and a black suit with a gray tie around his neck. He had sharp facial features with blue eyes and short black hair parted on his right side.

"Dr. Genus, I presume?" said Alucard.

"You presume correct." Dr. Genus slowly walked up to the two vampires until he was standing right between them. After standing there for a few moments, he turned to his right and walked toward Alucard, until there was only a foot of distance between them. "I witnessed your battle with the bald man, and I have to say, I was very impressed with the level of power and the unique abilities you demonstrated. Never had I ever seen an organism with the ability to summon an entire army of undead creatures. Not only that, but you were able to regenerate the gravest of wounds in mere seconds!"

"Save you flattery!" snarled Alucard, "When I get out of these shackles, I will rip you to pieces!" Alucard violently shook his wrists in an attempt to break free of his bonds, but he found no luck. Dr. Genus let out a soft chuckle. "It's no use; those bonds are strong enough to hold even the Beast King, and in your weakened state, it is a futile effort." Dr. Genus rotated his head to Seras, and calmly paced to her next. Seras' tendril brightly pulsed, twisting and contorting in relation to her bubbling anger. Dr. Genus took note of this and observed it with rising interest. "I never had the chance to see this tendril of yours while you were awake." Dr. Genus touched the tendril along its edge. Its surface was smooth, radiating heat onto his hand. "It seems the tendril's shape changes in correlation to your emotions. How interesting..."

Suddenly, the tendril whipped and slashed Dr. Genus. The doctor quickly withdrew, but not before incurring a small cut across his hand. The doctor trailed his finger across the cut, and observed the blood on his finger. "Well, we can't have aggression like that..." Dr. Genus paced to the set of computers and began vigorously typing on the keyboard.

"What do you plan to do with us?!" shouted Seras.

"In order to fully understand how your cells can regenerate at such a phenomenal rate and decode your DNA," said Dr. Genus, "I will need to harvest all of your organs." Seras felt shivers run down her spine. "I will collect brain fluid, spinal tissue, and bone marrow, and the best part is-" Dr. Genus looked up at the two of them and coldly stated, "I can collect as many samples as I want."

"Why are you doing this?" shouted Alucard, "What do you intend to do with this knowledge?"

Dr. Genus abruptly stopped his typing, his entire body freezing up. For a second, he was motionless and stared at the screen. "What I intend to do you ask?" Dr. Genus sharply turned his head and in a cold voice, said "With this knowledge, humanity will become better than ever before.

"For hundreds of years, humanity has slowly progressed to amazing levels of strength and intellect. We've designed skyscrapers that reach above the clouds, built aviation machines that travel hundreds of miles in less than a few hours, and pushed our bodies to new feats of physical strength and speed. But it still isn't enough! Everyday, our species is threatened by mysterious beings, and everyday, they're becoming stronger and stronger! Not only that, but natural disasters, climate change, all of these factors are slowly driving the human race to ruin! I've seen it all, studied it intensely, and determined humanity must continue to evolve, to push themselves to even greater heights, or else we will be driven to extinction. The only way to do this is through artificial science! MY SCIENCE! And I am determined to achieve this goal, even if no one else will help me!"

"HAH!" Alucard let out a derisive wrath, to the confusion of Seras and the frustration of Dr. Genus. "You are a misguided fool! Human beings cannot be artificially changed in the way you desire! When that happens, they are no longer human!"

"If that is the case, then so be it!" replied Dr. Genus, "There isn't any other way!"

"You're wrong! I've seen it! And so have you! That man I fought, Saitama, has achieved insurmountable strength through only training! And I guarantee he's on his way right now to put an end to your organization!"

"How ludicrous! We located that man's location in the downtown area of City Y: Armored Gorilla should have already taken care of-"

"DR. GENUS!" Running down the stairs at the end of the room was a man who looked identical to Dr. Genus, although instead of a black suit, he had light brown pants and a white shirt with the number 43 on it. "Armored Gorilla has just sent us a message: Kamakyuri has been killed, and Armored Gorilla is barely functioning! The bald man and cyborg defeated them! They're both on their way!"

Dr. Genus gasped. The King of Vampires, however, smirked: just as he predicted, Saitama made easy work of their captors and was on his way to finish the job.

"That's absurd!" replied Dr. Genus.

"Come see for yourself!" Dr. Genus ran his hand through his hair and sprinted up the stairs alongside his clone. Once he made it to the next floor, he saw dozens of his clones huddled up together, lines of worry etched under their eyebrows. Hulking above all of the clones, Beast King was standing quietly with his arms crossed, not nearly as worried as the clones were. On the wall, there was another giant screen monitor, and on it, it showed Ground Dragon, Frogman, and Kamakyuri were all dead! Only Slugerous and Armored Gorilla were still alive.

"Impossible," said Dr. Genus, "Our elite force wiped out like unevolved pond scum?"

"Apologies for the sloppy execution, Dr. Genus," said Beast King, "I thought Frogman and Ground Dragon could handle themselves, but turns out they couldn't."

"According to Armored Gorilla's report," said one of the clones, "The two responsible for eliminating them are on their way right now. If they arrive, all of our research, everything we've been working on could be destroyed. We cannot let that happen!"

Dr. Genus clenched his fists and began to shake in violent anger. He knew there was only one chance they had for survival. "It appears we're forced to use our trump card."

The other clones gave each other nervous stares, and even Beast King shifted nervously at what the doctor was implying.

"Begin preparations for the release of Carnage Kabuto!" All of the clones yelped out in complete terror, and their stomachs were tied into dozens of knots.

"What?"

"That's crazy!"

"Dr. Genus, let's not get rash here!" said Beast King, "I'm more than enough to handle those two! And besides, Carnage Kabuto is a nutcase! I know I'm one for slashing up opponents and fulfilling my bloodlust, but this guy takes it to a whole other level!"

"Everyone silence!" Dr. Genus had calmed himself down and thought through the situation. "He'll be our last resort. We'll activate all of our traps from the first floor to the eighth. Hopefully that will be enough to take care of the intruders. Beast King!"

"Yes?"

"Come with me to the basement. I might need your assistance in case Carnage Kabuto acts... rash."

"Understood."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that. If we fail, disaster will come down upon us all."

* * *

The two heroes, Saitama and Genos, were on a full sprint through the woods. On the way, they'd encountered a rowdy bear, but Saitama dealt with him with a swift chop to the neck. Genos had managed to track the location of the base, and it was about 60 miles from Y-city; they'd been running for about 20 minutes now, but Genos sensed they were almost there.

"I did not think we would be running the whole way," said Genos whilst sprinting alongside Saitama.

"How else do you expect to get there," replied Saitama.

"I was under the impression that you had the ability to fly."

"Dude, I'm just a regular guy; regular guys can't fly."

"It is amazing that you are never late for any fights," said Genos. They jumped up into the air several hundred feet and momentarily hovered in the sky. "You are a true hero."

"Pfffft! I hardly ever arrive on time, I've always got other stuff to do. It's a real hassle."

"There it is!" Genos pointed in front of them, and sure enough, in the middle of the dense forest, there was a thin, skyscraper-like building. The two heroes landed at the entrance of the building.

"So this is the place, huh?" said Saitama.

"Yes it is. The House of Evolution." Saitama went from the bottom and began counting the number of floors of the building to see how big this place really was.

"One, two, three four, five, six- Looks like it's about 8 stories high." Genos extended his palms out and grunted as his pyrokinetic energy flowed into his hands. With a single giant blast, the entire building was utterly decimated in a giant fiery explosion of black smoke. Once the smoke began to clear, Saitama's face could be seen with several black lines running vertical across his face and a sweat drop running down his cheek. "Ummmm, that was a little bit rash, don't ya think?" said Saitama.

"In the interest of efficiency," said Genos, explaaining his reasoning, "I thought it would be best to eradicate the building in a single strike." The building that was once here was all but incinerated, leaving a giant crater in its place.

"Meh." Saitama shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, it was efficient and all, but I still think it would've been better if we'd seen what our enemies had in store for us. I think it was a bad move, but whatever." Genos and Saitama slid down the crater and began to walk around, looking for any clues or hidden passages that might have been left behind. Then, Saitama looked on the ground and saw a metal hatch leading underground. Saitama grabbed the edge of the hatch and peeled it off like the plastic cover off a new phone. "Look like there's a basement." Saitama motioned his hand down the staircase.

"After you."

* * *

Deep in the underbelly of the House of Evolution, a clone of Dr. Genus had an assault rifle in his hand and was frantically shooting at a massive humanoid beetle.

"STAY AWAY!" The clone desperately screamed at the creature, but the bug monster punched him in the chest, splattering his insides all over the ground. The creature took a deep breath in, and calmly exhaled. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps filled the air. The creature looked up and saw Dr. Genus and Beast King walking toward him.

Even with his impressive power, the Beast King couldn't help but shudder at the strength from the House of Evolution's most powerful warrior.

"Hello there, Carnage Kabuto." The creature was humanoid but his body has many characteristics resembling a beetle, including a thick exoskeleton, a pair of wings encased by elytra, and a large horn on his head, similar to that of a rhinoceros beetle. His body also had many large spikes on his arms and legs most likely for battle or for show. Carnage Kabuto turned around to face the two, and instantly smirked when he made eye contact with Beast King. "Hey Beasty! It's been a while! How've you been? Haven't seen you since that time we sparred! "

"God, don't remind me!" replied Beast King. A few months ago, Dr. Genus had Beast King fight Carnage Kabuto to test his strength, and even at his maximum power, Beast King was barely able to put a scratch on him. It'd been the most humiliating moment of his life.

Dr. Genus nervously attempted to break the ice. "So how have you been? It appears you've killed several of my clones again. So are you satisfied?"

Carnage Kabuto sneered. "Satisfied? Why would I be satisfied? You locked me deep below the Earth to spend the rest of my life like an animal!" Carnage Kabuto grabbed the chain around his neck and smashed it into little pieces. "I'm the strongest fighter in the House of Evolution! I make Beasty here look as strong as a playground bully!" Beast King clenched his fists in anger, but still kept his mouth shut.

"I kept you locked down here because you're mentally unstable," said Dr. Genus, "We couldn't control you."

"COULDN'T CONTROL ME!" Carnage Kabuto let out a hearty laugh. "You fool! I am the ultimate culmination of everything you've been seeking in an evolved human! My intelligence and physical prowess far surpass anything your measly minds can comprehend, so the way I see it, you and all your clones should be obeying me!" He held his tongue out and wagged it up an down like the psychopathic animal he was.

"No, you're a failure," thought Dr. Genus, "While your physical abilities are extremely impressive, you lack any sense of empathy or compassion for anyone but yourself."

Dr. Genus spoke out, "If you intend to kill me, so be it; plenty of clones could take my place."

Carnage Kabuto lifted his eyebrow. What was he getting at?

"However, I have a favor to ask of you." Dr. Genus pulled out a remote and pressed a button; hovering in the air, a picture of Saitama picking his nose and Genos staring at the camera came up. "He's proven to be extremely powerful. They've already defeated Armored Gorilla and decimated the upper headquarters. Only you can defeat them."

"That's what you think," mumbled Beast King.

"Oh give it a rest already, Beasty!" Carnage Kabuto looked at the screen. He longed for a decent battle ever since his creation, and none of the warriors of the House of Evolution could give him that rush. Perhaps these intruders could be what he was looking for.

"I want you to capture him, dead or alive. Do you understand?"

"This is gonna be fun!"

* * *

"This basement is huge!" Saitama and Genos were venturing through the underbelly of the House of Evolution, searching for the mad scientist in charge of this organization. "I'm getting pretty pumped."

While Saitama admired the ominous corridors and the suspense they brought, Genos was using his sensors to track the energy levels of any life forms underground. "Wait!" Genos stopped in his tracks when he detected two energy levels close-by. "I believe I may have found who we're looking for."

"So where do we go?" said Saitama. Genos gently pushed his master aside and began walking in front of him. After about 30 steps, he stopped and made a sharp right, entering a narrow passageway. The passageway was much shorter than the main corridor, and in a few seconds, they entered a large room with large monitors on the wall. On the other wall, there were several vats with organisms floating inside them, and in the left corner, there was a large desk with several thick folders on the surface.

"I wonder what's going on in here," pondered Saitama.

"The energy levels are right through that stairway." Genos pointed to his right, showing a large staircase that led downward. The two walked down the staircase, and after a few steps, they saw a bright light at the bottom of the stairs. "I wonder what's down there," said Saitama.

"Well," Genos opened his hand and prepared an incineration blast, "Let's find out." Saitama and Genos reached the bottom of the stairs, expecting a huge boss waiting for them, but instead, to their shock, they saw the same vampires they fought yesterday strapped to two metal tables.

"Whoa! It's you guys!" Alucard and Seras lifted their heads up, and gasped. They were here!

"Saitama! What a pleasant surprise," said Alucard. Saitama paced up to the two vampires and asked, "What happened to you guys? How did you end up here of all places?"

"We were captured by the House of Evolution," replied Seras, "They were going to use us as their test subjects!"

"Lemme get you down from there."

"Wait, what?" Everyone looked back when they heard Genos angrily speaking to Saitama. "What do you mean? These are the same monsters that tried to kill us just yesterday!"

"Genos, first of all, you started it. Second of all, these two aren't like regular monsters, I can sense it. They aren't gonna hurt any innocent people. Isn't that right?"

"Of course," said Seras.

"But-"

"No buts, Genos! Now help me get them down from here!" Genos wanted to further protest his master's decisions, but he figured Saitama knew what he was doing more than Genos did, so he grudgingly sauntered to his master's side and attempted to remove the vampire's restraints. He tugged the chain, but it didn't budge. He tried harder, but still there was nothing. "It won't come off!" said Genos.

"Really? Dude, this thing's like paper. Here, watch." Saitama grabbed Alucard's leg restraints and with a light tug, ripped them off the table. He followed suit with Alucard's arm restraints, and the vampire fell to the ground knees-first. "Now let's get you down, pretty lady." Seras mildly blushed. Saitama did the same actions and in less than 5 seconds, Seras was freed from her restraints.

"It feels good to be able to stand again," said Seras. The two vampires lightly rubbed their wrists and ankles while Saitama and Genos just stood there and waited.

"Thank you." Alucard stood up and put his hand on Saitama's shoulder. "I am in your debt."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm a hero: it's what I do."

Seras felt her heart warm and shone a genuine smile at Saitama. "Well then," said Seras, "Now should we-"

"Hold on!" Genos blatantly interrupted the female vampire, his eyes now stone hard and his body tensing in defense. "I sense three energies heading right towards us!"

"Huh?"

Alucard and Seras knew what this was. "It's the Beast King!" yelled Seras.

Alucard bent his knees and held his hands out in defense. "Get ready, policegirl! Here they come!" From the top of the staircase, the loud booming of footsteps could be heard. That loud booming only grew in intensity and proximity, and sprinting from the staircase came Beast King and an insect creature with a man in his hand.

"YYYEEEAAAA!" The insect creature yelled out in excitement. Alucard could sense the vibrant and bloodthirsty aura radiating off of this insect creature. He was a violent monster, alright. But who was he? He didn't recall seeing a creature like this before. Was this some sort of trump card the organization had hidden away.

The insect creature let out a deep bellow. "So which one is it?"

"The one on the right!" The man weakly pointed his finger at Saitama. The insect creature looked at him, taking in his presence and appearance. Hie eyes lingered to the other three individuals standing beside him preparing for a fight. "So you've got some friends, huh? This'll be fun!"

"What kind of monster are you?" yelled Alucard.

"Heh-heh-heh. The name's Carnage Kabuto, the strongest fighter in the House of Evolution, and I'm here to annihilate all of you! So get ready, maggots!"

* * *

 _And that's the end of that! For the battle between Beast King, Seras and Alucard, I wrote it the way I did because I don't think Seras is crazy strong. Sure she has impressive strength and speed, but I haven't seen anything worthy of Dragon-level, and some people might argue that Pip didn't show up, but that's because Beast King knocked her out before he could even come to her aid. And as for Alucard, he's still healing from his battle against Saitama, and that significantly weakens his fighting abilities, so against a high Demon-level monster like Beast King, he won't fare well. Anyway, until Chapter 9, when we see Carnage Kabuto throw down!_


	9. Secrets Unveiled

_Hey folks! Chapter 9 of Monstrum Hominis is up! And look, you didn't have to wait three months! Isn't that awesome?! Yea, I've been in a working frenzy, so I've just been writing and writing and as a result, you get your chapter! Anyway, hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"So get ready, maggots!"

Right beside him, the Beast King was calmly staring at the foes before them. Normally, he'd be more pumped up for another battle like this, but in the presence of Carnage Kabuto, he couldn't help but feel overshadowed. Next to the most powerful member of the House of Evolution, Beast King was no longer the king of the jungle. He was just a second-rate lackey, and it felt awful!

"Well now that I think about it-" Carnage Kabuto instantly disappeared from sight. "I don't need the three of you!" Before Genos, Seras and Alucard could even register it, Carnage Kabuto appeared behind them and with a swing of his arm, sent all three of them crashing into the wall.

"Now then-" Carnage Kabuto put his arm behind him and pointed toward the exit. "We've got a combat experimentation room back over here. Let's throw down in there!"

The bald hero met Carnage Kabuto's sadistic gaze head-on. "You're on, Kabuto." It was time to put this overgrown beetle in his place.

A sadistic grin came across Carnage Kabuto's face. "Follow me." Saitama, alongside Dr. Genus and Beast King, trailed behind Carnage Kabuto as he navigated through the labyrinth of the underground level of the House of Evolution.

While the four of them left, the three unconscious individuals were still hammered into the wall. Then, the vampires' fingers began to twitch. Their eyes opened, and once they regained their senses, they instantly realized Carnage Kabuto and Saitama were gone.

"Master, he's strong," said Seras, "Even stronger than the Beast King."

"He is..." Alucard feigned a moment of doubt. Such power was indeed troublesome, and besides Saitama, he'd never encountered anyone with so much physical might. However, his determination overpowered this momentary fear, and he sliced his hand across the air. "But regardless, I'm still not done with him. Come, we'll follow him."

"Understood. First let me just get Genos down." Alucard's eyebrows lifted up. Was the policegirl serious? "Haven't you heard what he's been saying about us?" said Alucard, "He despises us. He's not going to even want to look at us without Saitama putting him in check."

"I don't care!" Seras shot her master a frustrated look, showing him that she was fully aware of his points, yet it did not matter to her. "Whether he likes it or not, I'm going to help him."

The Vampire King sighed; that was the policegirl alright. "Very well. Just make sure you don't take too long."

"I won't. We'll be with you shortly." Alucard nodded and went sprinting off after the others, leaving Seras and Genos alone. Seras inspected Genos to see if he'd sustained any damage, and unfortunately, the right side of his face was cracked. "Now let's get you down from there, Genos." Seras placed her hand around the cyborg's left arm and wrapped her tendril around his right arm. She then planted her foot into the wall, and with a hefty tug, pulled Genos clean out of the wall. "Genos..." The young vampire lightly shook Genos to snap him out of his snooze, but he remained motionless. After a few seconds of light shaking, the cyborg's eyes fluttered open, yet once he saw Seras crouching above him, he instantaneously recoiled and pushed himself several feet away from her.

Seras ignored the rather rude recoiling and looked on in worry. "Are you alright?" said Seras.

Genos sneered at Seras and scrunched his eyebrows in venomous disrespect. "I've already told you," shouted Genos, "I DON'T REQUIRE YOUR CHARITY, AND I DO NOT WANT IT!"

Seras placed her hand on her forehead in annoyance; what would she do with him? "Of course you don't," she muttered under her breath.

Once he was fully operational, Genos felt the room was rather vacant, and that was when he realized his master, Carnage Kabuto, and the other two left the room.

"Where did my master go?"

"He went off to fight Carnage Kabuto," responded Seras.

Upon hearing this, Genos clenched both of his fists. "I'm not finished with that monster!" With a short grunt, the cyborg broke into a sprint and ran after Saitama and the others.

Meanwhile, after making about 4 turns and walking for 2 minutes, the four of them finally reached the entrance to an absolutely massive room with white tiles surrounding everything from top to bottom.

"Pretty big, huh?" Carnage Kabuto was standing in the center of the large room, and Saitama was walking to the center to meet his opponent. "This is Dr. Genus takes us to test our fighting abilities, so they'll be plenty of room to get physical!"

"You'll have to take care of me first, Kabuto!"

"Huh?" Carnage Kabuto turned his head to the right and was surprised at who he saw: Alucard, his face scrunched in anger and his hands curled into fists.

Carnage Kabuto deviously smirked. "So you're still standing, huh? Not bad."

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Alucard pushed himself forward and went on a full-force sprint for Carnage Kabuto. The King of Vampires jumped into the air and hit Carnage Kabuto with a side kick across his face. He followed up the attack by grabbing Carnage Kabuto's horn. The insect monster let out a gasp of surprise; yelling in labored frustration, Alucard used all of his muscle power and actually managed to lift Carnage Kabuto up in the air. "YYYYYAAAAAHHHHHH!" With a might thrust, Alucard threw Carnage Kabuto down to the ground. Carnage Kabuto cracked several white tiles when he fell to the ground due to his massive weight coupled with the speed Alucard threw him at. Yet Alucard wasn't done: he cupped both his hands together into a single fist and barreled Carnage Kabuto in his stomach as hard as he could.

Alucard brimmed with pride. That should have done at least some damage! At least some!

"Heh heh heh..." The low chuckles from Carnage Kabuto sadly proved to Alucard that not even this combo move dealt any serious damage. "Is that the best you've got? How sad!" Before Alucard could react, Carnage Kabuto punched Alucard hard in the stomach, sending him flying up like a bird. Carnage Kabuto then jumped up and kicked Alucard in his gut again, causing him to yell out in pain.

"AND DOWN WE GO!" The two monsters quickly dropped down to the ground like stones, creating a small cloud of dust upon landing and fracturing some more white tiles.

"Looks like you're done, small-fry." Carnage Kabuto picked Alucard up by the leg and met no resistance. The insect monster let out a hmmph of disappointment and tossed Alucard aside like trash. "Now baldy, lets get back to-"

A huge wave of fire swarmed over Carnage Kabuto, but thanks to his thick hide, it only felt like a warm sauna. Carnage Kabuto didn't even need to look to see who it was. "So you again, huh? Where's your little lady friend?

"RIGHT HERE!" Sprinting right past Genos, Seras Victoria went on the offensive and blitzed Carnage Kabuto with several punches. She then extended her tendril and attempted to slash the insect in multiple areas, but his shell was simply too durable, and her attacks weren't strong enough to pierce through it.

"Those feel like tiny scratches! It's like I'm being showered with angry kittens!" mocked Carnage Kabuto. The great monster flexed his arms out and severed Seras' tendrils. The vampire was shocked at the ease he was handling her, and instantly, she was met with a powerful jab that hit her straight in the stomach and caused her to collide with the wall.

Genos was the final one who sprang into action. He went into a quick sprint, and then jumped midair, twirling around to gain momentum for his spin kick. Genos kicked Carnage Kabuto across the face and then landed several meters away from the monster. He followed up his kick and began to sprint in a circle to make it harder to attack, all-the-while firing volleys of incineration blasts. Hoping to keep Carnage Kabuto distracted long enough, Genos changed his direction from a circular motion to attacking head on. He jumped into the air and prepared one of his most powerful attacks, when Carnage Kabuto sadistically looked up, his tongue sticking out and his eyes bulging like a psychopath. "You fool!"

Genos squinted his eyes and quietly spoke, "Machine Gun Blows!" Genos threw a very fast chain of punches at Carnage Kabuto, but alas, the giant insect remained completely unfazed by the combo move and casually punched Genos, sending him rolling across the floor at extremely high speeds right toward Saitama. Fortunately for Saitama and Genos, the bald hero managed to catch Genos in his arms without any problem. Saitama's brows creased down; the cyborg's left eye was destroyed, sparking up small jolts of electricity. "He got me good..." muttered Genos. "Let me... take him!" Genos' determination showed itself when he got back on his feet even after a staggering blow from Carnage Kabuto. Unfortunately, Saitama wasn't too confident in his chances.

"Dude, you're all banged up and your face is cracked. Don't push yourself." The young cyborg did not need his words. Using the last of his energy, Genos extended his palm and fired a very large incineration blast. Carnage Kabuto had seen that coming, so, deciding to toy with him a little more, he took a very deep breath and let out a mighty exhale. The force of the air current managed to blow back the incineration cannon like it was a paper airplane. Genos felt the breath leave his chest. "With his breath?" he exclaimed, "NO WAY!" The incineration blast completely covered the two heroes, but Saitama remained unharmed. The same couldn't quite be said for Genos, unfortunately. When Saitama opened his eyes, he was taken aback by what he saw. "Genos are you alright?" asked Saitama.

"I'm fine."

"But- your hair!" The heat from the incineration cannon poofed up the cyborg's hair, causing the top of his head to look like a kernel of popcorn. In the face of his disciple's broken body, the bald hero's spirit twinkled. Saitama's face darkened, slyly smirking and balling his hands into fists. "I've gotta hand it to you, that was pretty impressive. You've gone and gotten my hopes up!"

Watching on the sidelines, Beast King was amazed at the level of power Carnage Kabuto was displaying. He was able to effortlessly dispose of all three of the fighters, and while Beast King managed to defeat them, it required his special move to do. But this? Carnage Kabuto didn't even look like he was trying!

Dr. Genus could sense the awe from Beast King and let out a slight humph of pride. "Carnage Kabuto, the most powerful and devastating warrior of the House of Evolution!" The thoughts were racing in his head, amplifying his glee and widening his smirk. "Let's see this human's inferior power and reflexes fare against a warrior that is the apex of artificial evolution! This battle and the potential he displays can open up entirely new possibilities for my experimentation, and added with the two vampires, I can advance my program decades into the future! Either way, I'm ecstatic to see how this battle unfolds!"

Alucard, having just recovered from the blow Carnage Kabuto dealt him, watched in amazement at the way the mighty monster tanked all of Genos' attacks effortlessly. In fact, Carnage Kabuto could very well surpass him in physical might, even at his most powerful state.

"Policegirl!" After Genos got pummeled, Alucard remembered about his disciple, and let out a small gasp of shock when he saw her lying defeated only a dozen meters away from him. Alucard ran, or more specifically limped, to the young vampire and shook her body. Seras groggily woke up from her momentary lapse in consciousness to see her master standing above her. "I'm sorry, master. He was too strong; all it took was a single punch."

"Let's not dwell on it now." Alucard grabbed the vampire's shoulder and quickly brought her up to her feet. "Saitama is about to engage Carnage Kabuto in combat."

Instead of feeling frightened, the female vampire beamed with confidence. "This battle is already over."

Alucard let out a short cackle, letting Seras know he agreed with her conclusion. "It is indeed, policegirl."

Saitama's joy mixed in with some newfound seriousness, similar to how he'd been before when facing Alucard at his maximum power. The intensity radiating off of Saitama was baffling: every step he took felt like a giant stomp that made the ground tremble in its wake. Carnage Kabuto sensed this intensity and grinned. "Oh I see it! I see it!" Carnage Kabuto pointed both of his index fingers at Saitama and smugly shrugged his shoulders, "You're supposed to be strong!"

"Don't disappoint me now." Carnage Kabuto's smile faded. "You're supposed to be this organizations trump card. Clearly you're leagues above the other guys I fought this morning. Look at you: just oozing with confidence."

The insect monster regained his smile and shortly chuckled. Instantly, in an amazingly short flash, Carnage Kabuto disappeared from sight. All of the spectators felt their hearts skip a beat: the battle had begun. Carnage Kabuto giddily ran across the room, shocking all of the spectators with his immense speed. His form then reappeared behind Saitama, preparing to strike him with a right punch, when...

Carnage Kabuto's entire body froze up. His sadistic smile was immediately replaced by absolute terror. Driven by this fearful emotion, Carnage Kabuto flapped his wings open and flew high into the sky, several hundred feet, until he was at the end of the combat room. The hardened expression disappeared on Saitama's face, and his typical derpy face returned. "Why did you fly away?" Saitama rotated his head to see where Carnage Kabuto had landed. "Hey!"

Dr. Genus and Beast King couldn't believe what Carnage Kabuto had just done. "ABSURD!" yelled the doctor, "Carnage Kabuto retreating?"

"I've never seen him act so scared," exclaimed Beast King, "Hell, I've never even seen him frown!"

On the opposite end of the room, Alucard's eyebrow was raised in curiosity. In fact, he was nominally impressed that Carnage Kabuto was smart enough to retreat. Somehow, he must have been able to sense Saitama's unbelievable power. It proved he wasn't just a pumped-up egotistical beast.

Carnage Kabuto was a nervous wreck: the veins in his eyes were bulging red, there were sweat beads all over his body, and his knuckles were snow-white. "If I'd followed through with my attack, he would have murdered me!" These thoughts were screaming in his head. "Who the hell is this guy? He's leaving himself wide open, but all of my instincts are screaming at me, sending out danger signals."

"BASTARD!" Carnage Kabuto screamed out, with the thunderous voice echoing throughout the massive chamber. "WHAT ARE YOU, SOME KIND OF ABOMINATION? HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT STRONG?!"

Everyone's eyes opened up in shock. Of all the questions he could have asked, that one was certainly not one at the top of the list. The bald hero didn't give a proper response, only looking at his opponent blankly, while the insect monster still had sweat beads all over him and was taking slower breathes in order to calm himself down.

Such a question had been an issue of hot topic recently. Alucard asked that same thing, and when he told him the truth, he got extremely pissed at the answer. So how was this going to be any different?

Saitama dismissively shrugged his shoulders. "Dude, you're not gonna believe what I say! Trust me!"

Carnage Kabuto's fear was quickly replaced with frustration, in part due to his mental instability and his rage-driven personality. "I DEMAND AN ANSWER!"

"Yes! I want to know too!" Dr. Genus drew Saitama's head to his direction when he shouted out to him. "Oh, you again..."

"I want to learn your secret as well!"

"You won't believe him!" Alucard shouted out to Dr. Genus and Carnage Kabuto. "I didn't believe it when I was first told. Even now, I still harbor doubts."

Saitama held his hand out to Alucard to further prove his point. "Ya see?"

"JUST TELL ME YOUR DAMN SECRET!" screamed Carnage Kabuto.

"ALRIGHT!" Saitama angrily threw his hands up in the air, conceding to these demands. "I DID 100 PUSHUPS, 100 SIT-UPS, 100 SQUATS, AND A 10 KILOMETER RUN ALL-AT-ONCE FOR THREE YEARS STRAIGHT! THERE, ARE YOU HAPPY?!"

Utter silence. The King of Vampires could not make sense of what Saitama just said. The idea that doing such menial exercises as such was the most farcical, idiotic, ludicrous thing he'd ever heard in his 500 years of life! So why did Saitama say it? Was it just a lie? Was it to enrage or mock Carnage Kabuto and Dr. Genus? Alucard was studying the facial expressions of Carnage Kabuto and Dr. Genus, seeing how they handled Saitama's response. So far, their faces were still neutral and they hadn't acted out. They were holding out better then Alucard had when he first heard it.

"So that's how you're gonna be, huh?" Carnage Kabuto's voice was barely above a speaking voice, although the cold indifferent emotion in his voice hid the anger rising up. "If you're gonna joke around with me, give me a bunch of bullshit and keep your real secret from me, that's fine!" Carnage Kabuto's body began to bulk up. The increase in muscle mass broke the armor plating on his shoulders. Dr. Genus staggered back, and Beast King yelped out, for both of them knew what this meant. Loud alarms began to ring off; Genos also noticed that the entrance was being sealed off

"It looks like he's going on another rampage!" said Dr. Genus.

"Not again!" shouted Beast King.

"I bet you're not stronger than me! Not even close!" The veins on Carnage Kabuto's body began to bulge to ridiculous levels. In fact, his entire body was beginning to change. "But since you've SERIOUSLY pissed me off, I'm gonna PULVERIZE YOU!" The increasing muscle mass caused Carnage Kabuto to gain a significant 5 meters in height. His brown skin was changing into a bright purple, and lines of lime green were starting to glow all around him. His teeth became sharp and jagged, his eyes turning blood red, and the horn on his head sharpened to a point; on his back, a large spike protruded outward.

"CARNAGE MODE!" Once Carnage Kabuto completed his transformation, the room momentarily darkened, and the white tiles were now black, with red lines all around the sides of the squares. For some reason, the floor became transparent, giving the illusion that there was an endless abyss below them. Alucard's eyes nominally widened, the two young adults' mouths was gaping in shock, and Beast King felt like he was going to piss his pants; it pissed him off that he was so afraid of Carnage Kabuto, but he couldn't help it!

The insect monster now towered over Saitama in all his hulking, intimidating glory. "When I'm in Carnage mode, my blood lust skyrockets and I lose control for a whole week, and my killing instincts cannot be stopped! Once I kill you, I'll head into town and go on a bloody killing spree until next Saturday!" That final part of the sentence was the only part of his speech that caused Saitama to react in shock. Carnage Kabuto arrogantly pointed his finger, shouting, "IF YOU REALLY ARE A HERO, THEN TRY AND STOP ME!"

The bald hero's eyes widened in horror, and he felt all of the power drain from his body, because a horrible realization was beginning to dawn upon him. Because of this, he did nothing to stop the ginormous fist that struck him square in the chest, causing Saitama to fly high into the air and crash into the ceiling, destroying several block tiles in the process.

"No way," thought Saitama, "It can't be!" Carnage Kabuto leaped up and punched Saitama on his right side. He repeated these string of singular punches which sent him flying in several different areas of the room.

Fear and panic began to bubble up from Genos. "Master?"

Likewise, Seras could not stand to see Saitama being relentlessly pummeled across the gigantic room by this insect monster. "Master! What's going on?" Seras grasped the shoulder of her master, who for some reason, was smiling, not looking the least bit concerned with the present situation. "He's just toying with Carnage Kabuto."

Genos overheard this and turned to face the two vampires, listening in on this conversation. "I've fought Saitama first-hand," continued Alucard, "This isn't even close to Saitama's breaking point. He has to be toying with this monster, instilling him with a false sense of confidence to make the final blow all-the-more devastating."

This new analysis managed to amaze Genos, and his face loosened up in some relief. But in the air, Saitama's face was still hard as rock because the realization from before was further developing and frightening him. "I may have inadvertently made a horrible mistake." From above Saitama, Carnage Kabuto put his feet together and slammed Saitama into the ground, lifting up several more blocks in the air. "This guy said he'll be on a rampage for a whole week!" Carnage Kabuto began a series of lightning-fast punches, which Saitama blocked with his elbows. "Which means he'll be like this through next Saturday." The insect monster bent down, sweeping Saitama up from the ground with his horn several dozen meters into the air.

"So what he's saying is today is Saturday too." The whiteness turned black in Saitama's eyes when it finally came together in his head.

On the opposite side of the room, Dr. Genus was delightfully smiling, taking immense pleasure in Carnage Kabuto's total onslaught against the pathetic hero. "It's all over." Dr. Genus was thinking pleasant thoughts in his head. "There's no one left on this planet who can stop my glorious creation!"

"That means today is-" Saitama screamed the next words in horrifying anguish, "BARGAIN DAY AT THE SUPERMARKET!" Saitama clenched his fist, tearing through Carnage Kabuto's hand. He tore through Carnage Kabuto's entire body, ripping off the monster's head, dismembering his left arm and ending the wretched beast's life.

All of the spectators had their minds blown. Even Alucard couldn't help but let out a small gasp at the ease Saitama ended this monster's life. On the opposite side, Dr. Genus was at a loss for words, and Beast King was gripping his mane, tugging on it and threatening to pull many hairs out. "This is insane!" shouted Beast King, "If Carnage Kabuto couldn't beat this guy, then I haven't got a chance in hell!"

"Who the hell is he?" said Dr. Genus.

Weirdly, in spite of his victory, the triumphant hero wasn't acting so triumphant. Instead, he'd fallen to the ground, closing his eyes and yelling out in anger because he'd missed his vital bargain at the supermarket.

"I SCREWED UP!" screamed Saitama. The bizarreness of Saitama's actions and words served to puzzle Dr. Genus immensely. "What the hell is he talking about?" the doctor said.

Genos briskly walked up to the doctor. "I believe he is upset because he is missing this." Genos showed Dr. Genus a piece of paper. The scientist looked and saw there was a huge bargain sale outlined on the paper, and a big one no less.

The teenage cyborg saw his master grieving the loss of the bargain sale, so he walked up to him to lessen the burden of the bad news. "Master, the sale closes at 2 pm. It is about 10:00 right now, so if we really hurry, we can manage to make it to the sale and still have enough time to shop."

Saitama's dampened soul was sparked to life with this news, and he instantly jumped up to his feet. "Wait, so you're saying there's still a chance to make it?"

"Yes," replied Genos.

"Let's go Genos!" Not wanting to waste any time whatsoever, Saitama began to run out of the room, with Genos ardently following behind him. Just feet after reaching the wall, Genos unleashed a large incineration blast, destroying the thick wall, and with that, the two heroes ran into the deep forest surrounding the facility.

"Do you now understand what I told you before?" Alucard's words rang out to Dr. Genus, who looked away from the hole Genos had just made and turned to the King of Vampires. "The artificial evolution you sought out is nothing compared to that man." Alucard slowly walked over to the doctor, measuring his pace and analyzing the shock expressive on Dr. Genus' face. "He is the culmination of all of the potential humanity has. It is through the willpower of the rare few and their passion that blazes in the heat of battle that such strength is attained. Men like you, attempting to evolve through artificial enhancements, you're never going to make it that far.

"Human beings are strong because they can change themselves!" These words amplified the already large impact on the good doctor's psyche and understanding of the world itself. For Dr. Genus, all he was waiting for was the final blow dealt by Alucard; with his goals in life shattered, he truly saw no further reason to live.

"What are you waiting for?" said Dr. Genus, "Deliver the final blow!"

Beast King was incredulous to what Dr. Genus was implying. "Dr. Genus, what are you saying?"

"Why not? With my strongest creation exterminated, there's nothing left for me! Besides, a monster like this wouldn't hesitate to exterminate his captor. So DO IT!"

Had Alucard been in this predicament before he was transported to this alternate dimension, he would have most definitely done this without hesitation. It was the way things worded: killing your enemies when the battle was over. So then, why was he hesitating? With a single jabbing strike, he could rip through the scientist's body like paper and end his life. It was as simple as that. However, there was a small voice ringing in his head, preventing him from doing so. That voice was telling him to show one thing he almost never showed: mercy. It was telling him that his enemy had already been defeated, both literally and emotionally. But no! This man was still his enemy! His captor! He couldn't just let him go like this! Alucard lifted his arm up and pointed his fingers like small knives. Part one was done. Now all that was needed was part two. Alas, his mind and his body were still fighting fiercely. He couldn't make a decision!

Right behind him, Seras bashfully walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "He's weak." Seras' voice was barely above a whisper. "Let it go." She didnt want to see blood shed unecessarily.

The King of Vampires didn't move a muscle. The time passed and passed; then, after what seemed to be an entire day, Alucard brought his arm down, grudgingly conceding to the unfamiliar choice of mercy. Seras' eyes sparkled and her heart warmed like a fireplace. "Thank you, master."

Alucard said nothing, and proceeded to walk to the large hole Genos made just moments ago. "Let's go, policegirl."

"Right." Seras ran up to her master's side, and the two vampires leapt out into the evening sky.

Beast King bent down to see the expression now on Dr. Genus' face. "Dr. Genus?"

"I think... I'm done dabbling with evolution," stated Dr. Genus, "It would appear that I'm the one who must change."

* * *

"Well, we've finally made it." On the other side of the globe far away from Saitama, Genos, Alucard and Seras, two other supernatural creatures had arrived at the first sign of civilization in this unknown land. Standing at the edge of the entrance to City A, Walter and The Captain were sternly gazing, slightly out of breath. After they'd been transported to this unknown place and met up with each other, they'd been traveling a few hundred miles by foot nonstop. It had taken several hours, but they finally made it to modern civilization. What they were going to do in this modern civilization, they weren't quite sure.

"So what should our next move be?" said Walter. He would have never expected himself to be in a predicament like this; it was like he was a homeless man attempting to pinch pennies and live under cardboard shacks. Truth be told, it was rather humiliating. "Naturally, the best thing to do would be to find somewhere to live, but we don't have any money, and since we don't have Millennium and its vast wealth to aid us, we'll have to start from scratch." Walter pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "It appears we're going to have to find jobs if we're going to scrape by, until we figure out how to get back to Millennium. How is your CV?"

His attempt of humor didn't even get a soft chuckle from The Captain. Instead, the Captain grasped Walter's shoulder and pointed to the largest building towering in the center of the city. Walter's eyes stared at The Captain, completely lost. "Yes, a large building. So?" The Captain still said nothing.

Walter's eyes squinted; did he even have a voice box? "Look, if we're going to work together, you'll need to be a little more vocal. No more of this silent brooding; regular vampires can't read minds, so speak!" Only silence fell between them. The two initiated in a cold stare down, the tension and the seriousness swirling around them like a snake closing in on its prey. They could have gone on like this forever. Ultimately though, in a quiet and surprisingly warm voice, the werewolf spoke his first words to his comrade. "I believe we should visit that building. Given its large design, it's probable that it holds a very large significance to the city. Perhaps we could look for opportunities there."

After The Captain finished his sentence, Walter followed it up with a surly grin and a rude chuckle. "Well. I guess you're not just all bite." The corners of the werewolf's mouth curved down, and he aggressively pushed Walter aside. The vampire returned the scowl and furrowed his eyebrows. When The Captain could sense Walter wasn't moving, he turned his head to face him. "Don't get used to it." This was all he said before he began a walking pace toward the large building.

Walter stayed where he was for a few moments, and let the building anger dissipate before he did something reckless. He quickened his pace to walk right beside his comrade, and together, they made their way toward the start of their new life in this unknown world.

* * *

Running through the woods rather aimlessly, the two vampires were making their way to... Well, that was just it. Neither one of them had the slightest idea of what they would do. At the moment, they were simply traveling for the sake of traveling and for a lack of better plan. I mean, what could they do? They were in a world with no connections, no money, no anything that could benefit them. Both vampires realized this, but they still remained silent about it.

"Alright, stop!" It was Seras who decided this couldn't be left undiscussed any longer, and she made a screeching halt. Alucard's eyes widened, and he too instantly stopped his sprint. "Master, we need to talk!"

Alucard knew this was a necessary conversation, and he supposed this was as good a time as any. Besides, it's not like they had anywhere to be. "Very well. Let's take a seat." Alucard and Seras sat side-by-side with their backs leaning on the trunk of a very large tree.

"What're we going to do?" Seras felt a growing sense of insecurity and uncertainty with their present situation. They truly had nothing. Besides each other, they had no home, no money, no references, no friends, and no one to aid them in their struggles. "I don't want to be sleeping in the woods every night! If we're going to be staying here, I feel like we should make something of our time!"

Alucard somberly nodded his head. "You're quite right. Unfortunately, without the wealth and resources of the Hellsing Organization, there isn't much we can do.

"We're going to have to find a group or organization where we can get a modest income for weapons and housing. But where could we find such an organization?"

Alucard and Seras thought of any groups that they could work for, but it was pointless. They'd only been here for two days, and they barely had any chance to learn about organizations in this other dimension.

"Wait! I've got it!" A huge light bulb popped up in Seras' mind; she couldn't believe she hadn't remembered it before!

"What? What is it?" asked Alucard.

"The card!" Alucard gave Seras a questionable stare at first. But then, his eyes widened and the corners of his mouth were raised up. "Of course!" Alucard remembered a card the teenager had given to him two days ago. It was still stored away in his trench coat pocket, and the way his dark matter composition, he could store his clothing inside of his body. He formed his red trench coat around him and dug into the pocket with the card. Thankfully, the card was still there and it had the phone number of the association.

"Excellent! Once we find a payphone, we can give the association a call and see what kind of benefits they give! It's just what we need!" Alucard smiled gleefully, but it quickly faded when he realized his apprentice wasn't smiling with him. Alucard didn't understand what was wrong.

"It's just..." Seras answered her master's question before he even had the chance to ask it. "Do you think it's a such a good idea?"

"What do you mean?" inquired Alucard.

"We're monsters!" Seras spat it out like it should have been obvious to Alucard, and once Alucard put that together, his expression dampened. That was a rather significant problem. "There's no way we would be accepted into an association of heroes! Besides, even if we try to show ourselves off as regular humans, our red eyes and my arm tendril will be dead giveaways!"

"Good points..." Alucard cradled his chin with his fingers and pondered their options and how to deal with this. The red eyes would be a rather significant problem; while yes, there was a small portion of the human population who had red eyes, it would still look rather suspicious. He supposed that the simplest thing would be to get some sunglasses, and he'd heard of blue eye contacts. Alucard's mood nominally lightened: yes, that would most likely work. And as for the policegirl's dark tendril...

"Policegirl." Alucard forcefully held Seras by both her arms and intently stared into her eyes. It's time I teach you how to control your dark matter."

For a moment, the female vampire only gazed with her big red eyes, but then, she shone another one of her signature warm smiles. "Sounds good." It was about time Seras received another one-on-one lesson from her master.

"Now, take a seat." Alucard sat on the ground cross-legged, and Seras quickly followed his lead and sat cross-legged a few feet apart from him.

"Let's begin and try to make it quick.

"Now that you're a true vampire, this dark matter compromises your entire being. It enhances your regenerative abilities, your combat skills, and is a utilitarian weapon. This dark matter is affected by your emotions, so the more enraged you feel, the more violent and distorted dark matter will become. At the moment, you lack the experience of morphing your tendril into many useful shapes and maintaining those shapes for a long period of time. In order for us to walk about undetected in the human populace, you're going to make your tendril appear human."

Seras firmly nodded. "So how do I control it?" inquired Seras.

"In order to change your arm into a humans and maintain that, you're going to have to put a tremendous amount of focus."

"Huh?"

"You have to picture the image of the form you want in your head vividly. Imagine your tendril as a regular human arm. But remember, calmness is key. Can you do it?"

"Uh-huh," replied Seras.

"Well then, let's try it." The female vampire eagerly nodded and did what her master commanded. "Now close your eyes." Seras slowly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to loosen any tense nerves. "Like I said, picture the human arm in your head."

Seras imagined her left arm as it was before she lost it. Its white, delicate design. She repeated this image over and over in her mind, only focusing on that image. She kept doing this until finally, she felt the tendrils whipping from her left arm massing together into one single tendril. She opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw: her left arm was there, looking as if it'd never been torn off. "Yes!" But the victory was short-lived, for her left arm quickly turned red, violently shaking, and in less than a few seconds, it returned back to being a mass of multiple tendrils. Seras Victoria felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. "What happened?"

"You became distracted and stopped focusing on maintaining the shape," said Alucard, "If you want to walk about like this, you're going to have to put all of your concentration into it at all times. It will take some time for the dark matter to permanently adjust to its new shape."

"How much time is "some time?""

"If you vigorously train your mind, I would say it would take a few weeks."

Seras incredulously gasped. "A FEW WEEKS?" she exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, yes. It would be best for you to wear an overcoat in public to disguise your dark tendril until you gain full control."

"Oh, alright!"

"But before we do that... I think we need to pay a visit."

* * *

"Man, they really made a mess of this place." Lugging the large haul he'd managed to get at the bargain, Saitama had just returned to his motel, with his faithful disciple beside him. Outside the motel, there was yellow police tape, and police officers were gathered around, attempting to figure out what exactly happened, but unfortunately for them, there weren't any eye witnesses to clue them in. "I just hope I'm not somehow billed for this."

"I'm sure you will be fine," assured Genos. The two heroes entered the main lobby, where two police officers were questioning the front desk employee. They paid no attention to Saitama and Genos as they walked down the hallway toward the elevator. "Man, I don't even have a stove to cook all this stuff!" exclaimed Saitama. The elevator button dinged, and the doors opened up. The two heroes entered the elevator, and Saitama clicked the 3rd floor button. The two heroes then stood in silence and a small degree of awkwardness while the elevator went up.

Genos quickly broke the silence. "I am glad we were able to aboid capture and keep your secret out of the enemies hands."

"Yea. Wait a minute..." Saitama's eyes quickly widened, and his brain exploded when something terrible occurred to him. "Capture! CAPTURE!" Genos quickly bent down in panic and preparation for some sort of enemy. "What? What is it, master?"

"OH SHIT!" The elevator doors opened, and Saitama bolted out the doors and through the hallway. Genos quickly followed, while Saitama fumbled with his room key. The lock beeped, and Saitama sprinted into his room, which still had a large hole from the House of Evolution's attack.

"Master, What is the problem?" Suddenly, a great sigh of relief came out from Saitama. In his hands, he had his undamaged and still running Nintendo DSI XL. "Thank god it isn't broken. This is basically my only form of entertainment now besides television." Saitama opened up the Nintendo to see where he'd left off. "Alright, I've still got to beat Bugsy. I've only got to battle the wins to the right, and then I'll be good to fight the gym leader." Genos leaned in curiosity to see what sort of activity Saitama was indulging in. "What are you playing?" asked Genos.

"I'm playing Pokémon Heartgold on the DSI XL." Genos stared at his master like he had no idea what he was talking about. Saitama was baffled. "You mean you've never played Pokémon?"

"I've not even familiar with the term."

Saitama gasped. "Jesus Christ, are you serious?!"

"As I told you before," said Genos, "My family was very poor and we lived in a rather isolated town. Luxuries as such were sadly inaccessible for us."

"Well here's your first lesson as my disciple!" Saitama shoved the Nintendo into the cyborg's hands. "Go on that conveyor belt!" Genos did what his master said, and when he reached the other end, a person was there. The background changed, and two creatures were thrown on opposite sides.

"Alright, you've got Pidgeotto in battle, and that's good. Click the battle button, then select Wing Attack."

"Why exactly?"

"Because Bug-type is super effective to Flying-type moves! He'll die in one hit!"

"Ooohhhhh... I see! In battle, the typing of your opponents can significantly change the outcome of the battle. Such brilliance!" Genos clicked on Wing Attack, and as Saitama said, the opposing Pokémon fainted instantly. "See? Now you're getting it!"

Genos beamed with pride. "Thank you Master!"

"Next, tap-" A rapid knocking of the door interrupted Saitama. "Huh. It's probably housekeeping. You keep playing; I'll answer the door." Saitama stood up and paced to the door.

"Look, I don't need cleaning right-" Saitama's sentence faltered that it wasn't a cleaning maid at the door: it was the two vampires again.

"It's you again," said Saitama.

"We need to talk," replied Alucard, "I believe I have something you might be interested in."

* * *

 _Damn dude! Walter and The Captain together! What do you think this means? Are they going to become HEROES?! What'll happen to Saitama? Will he live in an actually decent place? I suppose you'll have to find this out on the next chapter of Monstrum Hominis!_


	10. New Recruits

**Chapter 10 of Monstrum Hominis is up! I've been on like a writing frenzy with this story, so here's another rather quick update. Now behold Chapter 10!**

* * *

"We need to talk," replied Alucard, "I believe I have something you might be interested in."

Genos looked up from the video game when he heard that cold, cutting voice. He knew that voice! Genos sprinted up to see Alucard and Seras once again, and he ferociously growled. "YOU TWO AGAIN!" yelled Genos, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Calm down dude!" Saitama put his hands on the cyborg's shoulders to hold him back. "Like I've said before, they aren't bad guys." Saitama looked back at the two vampires and asked, "How did you find me?"

"Dr. Genus told us you were in the downtown area of City Y, and all we had to do was look for the building with significant damage and several people around it." answered Alucard.

"Although we had to be very stealthy to get here," added Seras, "Since we're vampires and we'll naturally draw unwanted attention to ourselves."

"Right, right. So..." Saitama was a little awkward with this next question, as it felt a tad bit odd to ask. "Do you wanna come in?"

"Sure," Alucard and Seras walked into the room, being violently eyed by Genos who still ferociously hated both of them. "I guess sit on the bed." Seras and Alucard got on the bed and attempted to make themselves comfortable, with Saitama quickly doing the same. Genos, however, chose not to get comfortable and remained standing, his arms crossed and his eyes scrunched in fury. Saitama was a little unsure of how to initiate conversation, as he was a little unfamiliar with social convention, but on the other hand, there wasn't really any social conventions for monsters. "So..."

Genos cut Saitama off before he could try and break the ice, determined to fish out any secrets these monsters were hiding. "STATE THE PURPOSE OF YOUR ARRIVAL!"

Alucard gave Saitama a deadpan look. "You can really feel the love flowing from him," said Alucard.

"Yea... Now what did you want to tell me?"

Alucard took a card out of his pocket and handed it to Saitama. The bald hero examined it with curiosity. "What is this?"

"This is a number to the Hero Association."

The bald hero looked up to Alucard and Seras, befuddled by this information. "Hero Association? What's that?"

"It's an association dedicated to fighting monsters across the globe," said Seras. Saitama's face showed them that this clearly wasn't ringing any bells.

"I can get the main homepage loaded up on my phone." Genos took out his phone and looked up the Hero Association. Once he got the homepage loaded up, he showed the phone to Saitama, who began to read the text out-loud.

"Take a test at any local branch of the Hero Association. If you score better than the cutoff, you will be registered in the Hero Registry and will be allowed to officially call yourself a 'hero.' Once you are recognized by the Association, you are deemed a pro and will get paid from donations collected by the Association. All heroes in the public eyes are registered, professional heroes. You may be doing plenty of hero work, but self-proclaimed heroes are really just weirdoes..." Saitama's voice faltered, and he said the next sentence with bafflement and disappointment, "Weirdoes spouting nonsense and are viewed with suspicion."

He hadn't known about any of this, and for three years, he'd been doing his duty as a hero and most likely been viewed as a freaking weirdo. The bald hero's eyes went dark, and he slowly dropped his forehead to his hands, which were raised up around his chest. "I had no idea."

"So what we were thinking," followed Seras, "Was that we'd sign up with this Hero Association, since they said they pay the heroes and, given your strength, you should be able to kill several monsters and gain quite a lot of money."

Saitama's dark expression significantly brightened up when this advantageous bonus came to his attention. "Yea..." Saitama's attention was shifted to Genos. "Hey Genos, are you registered with this association?"

"No," replied Genos, "Should I be?"

Just like that, an idea popped up in Saitama's head. "Hey let's sign up! Come register with me and I'll make you my official disciple!" With this new suggestion, the young cyborg's mood managed to brighten. "Sounds like a plan!"

"Do you guys wanna come too?" The cyborg's smile instantly faded, and his typical hostility against them returned. The two vampires shone Saitama small smiles of approval. "We'd love to," said Seras, "But..."

Saitama's eyebrow furrowed up. "But what?"

"We know this is a bit out of nowhere," said Alucard, "But do you perhaps have an overcoat and a pair of sunglasses?"

"Sure. Why do you need one?"

"I need to hide my dark tendril from the public, or else we might be brought under suspicion."

Saitama shrugged his shoulders. "That makes sense." Saitama went to his luggage and grabbed a black jacket and some sunglasses he'd been fortunate enough to find and threw it over to Seras. She gladly accepted the jacket and sunglasses and put them on. The young vampire eagerly clapped her hands and got out of the bed. "So, should we get going?"

"Where're we going?" said Saitama, "I don't know the directions."

"I'll search the nearest branch of the Hero Association." Genos got on his phone again and pulled up the location of the Hero Association's branch in City Y. "It's only about 20 minutes walking distance from here."

"Well then, lead the way!"

* * *

At City A, where the Hero Association headquarters was located, towering over the rest of the city and watching over it like a protective guardian, the two monsters Walter and The Captain had just reached the front of the monumental building.

"It looks like we've finally arrived," said Walter, "The design is sleek and ordinary. I would assume this building was built primarily for either business or defense."

But defense from what? The two monsters walked in to see. Once the pair entered, their ears were meet with the sound of eager citizens and tourists jubilantly conversing, while other staff members were quickly running about to go about their jobs. They noticed that there were several large individual masses of people crowing around a single person with different clothing. The people were deeply admiring them, staring in awe and asking them several questions at once. At the same time, the individuals being admired were gladly accepting the adoration, basking in it like a warm fire on a cold winter night. Their heads were raised and their lips were curved upward in smiles while they answered whatever questions their fans had for them.

"What is this place…" exclaimed Walter. The Captain tapped Walter's shoulder and pointed to the front desk to ask their questions, although it could take a while.

At the front desk, there was a young woman with brown eyes and brown hair. But her youthfulness was being weighed down by the great stress that came with her job. At the moment, she was in a conversation with what was presumably a very angry or very anxious client, as she was attempting to calm them down on the phone.

"I'm sorry sir, we'll send help right-" Her sentence faltered when she saw two rather handsome men with bulky bodies and intimidating auras standing at the front desk.

"I'll direct to you our support hotline." The woman pressed a key on the keypad and hung up the phone. She hid her tiredness, put up the happy customer facade and shone the two a warm smile. "Hello, how may I help you gentlemen?"

"Hello, we would just like to know what this place is?"

"This is the headquarters of the Hero Association." Walter's eyes narrowed; he looked to The Captain to see his reaction, and likewise, his eyebrow was lifted in confusion.

"Hero Association?"

"If you're from an area fortunate enough not to be attacked by monsters, the Hero Association is an organization dedicated to eliminating monsters or other threats and protecting humanity. Due to the large number of monsters attacking cities, the association has several hundred heroes registered. Are you two here to register?"

"Register? As heroes?" said Walter.

"Yes." The woman grabbed two pamphlets beside her and handed them to Walter and The Captain, who immediately began to read through the contents. "If you're indeed interested in signing up, the way it works is you fill out a form and go to a large auditorium, where your physical abilities will be examined. Depending on your preferred style of fighting, the tryouts will be adjusted. Once you're finished with the physical examination, you'll be given a written exam that will count as half of your total score. If you get anything below a 70, you will most definitely be rejected. But, if you manage to get a near-perfect or perfect score, however unlikely, you will be assigned to either A-class or S-class, the top two tiers of the association. A-class and S-class heroes also have the housing option available."

The last part of the sentence caught their attention. "Housing?"

"As a good grace to the strong heroes, the Hero Association gives these heroes the option of housing. If you choose to be part of the housing program, you will be given a very fancy apartment, and the higher the ranking, the more luxurious the apartment. Additionally, many A-class and S-class heroes will be paid hefty allowances depending on the number of monsters and threats they handle."

"So we won't have to pay for anything?" said Walter, rather stunned at the bonuses provided by this.

"The Hero Association receives its funds from public donations and a few opulent investors, so most bills will be paid by the Hero Association. So, would you like me to give you the registration forms?"

"Ummm... Just give us a minute, if you would." The woman closed her eyes and smiled. "Of course. Take all the time you need." Walter and The Captain walked over to an area with no other people in the vicinity.

"Well what do you think?" said Walter. "It seems like the practical choice, given we'll be able to use our abilities to do what we were already doing with Millennium: fighting monsters. Besides, we'll be given housing and money, which will give us the chance to do some more research on where we are and how we will get back, so there's really no downside to this." Another part of him driving him to this decision was... the impact. If he chose this path of fighting monsters and protecting humanity from the worst of threats, he would be revered, applauded like an actor taking his bows on stage. Life was just a stage performance, and Walter wanted to do something worthy while on-stage, and it didn't matter what stage he was on, as long as he gave an astounding performance. THAT was why he wanted to join this association.

"Yes there is," said The Captain. Walter quizzically stared at his comrade. "If we join this association and they find out we're monsters, they will most certainly attempt to execute us."

Walter let out a sardonic laugh. "They can try! Our abilities far surpass anything measly humans could reach. We'll definitely reach the top ranking class once they see us in action. Besides, we can pass ourselves off as regular humans."

"What about my red eyes?" he said.

The vampire nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "With your white hair, you can just say you're an albino." The Captain momentarily mulled this over, looking over any cons that could arise from this. The only thing the immortal werewolf ever knew or been good at was fighting. It was in his nature. So if he could permanently stay out of Millennium's evil clutches and join a fighting organization dedicated to saving lives, that was certainly enough for him. Seeing as how the pros far outweighed the cons, The Captain gave a small nod, confirming that he was on board. "Then it's settled."

The duo walked back to the front desk, and Walter promptly greeted the woman with, "We'll register."

The woman beamed. "Excellent! These are for you." Walter and The Captain were then given registration forms and a pen for each of them. "You just need to fill out your basic information, and then I'll tell you where the hero tryouts are being held."

They then began writing, but within only a few seconds, they ran into a little snag. "What if we don't have an address to register?" said Walter, "It's just that we're travelers and don't like staying in a single place for more than a night."

"That's fine," replied the woman, "Just fill out all possible sections to the best of your abilities." There were very few sections, unfortunately, that the two could even fill out. Almost all the sections, date of birth, location of birth, zip code, social security number, all of these things couldn't be filled out. So they quickly jotted their names and listed false information for the sections they couldn't fill out, hoping it would fool the association for now. In less than a minute, the two warriors finished the paperwork and handed it back to the woman.

"Excellent." She took the paperwork with one hand and with her other hand, pointed to a hallway to her right. "Just walk down that hallway, make a right at the furthest entrance, and walk down the flight of stairs. Down there, you'll begin the tryouts alongside the other sign-ups. Here are two pamphlets that will tell you any other additional details you may be curious about." The duo took the pamphlets and slid them in their pockets. Oh, and just to let you know, it's recommended to remove your articles of clothing. You'll find locker rooms next to the entrance. Good luck gentlemen!"

* * *

The quartet of soon-to-be-professional-heroes had just made it to the nearest Hero Association branch in the city. The building was an immensely large auditorium with several glass windows near the base of the building. Covering the entire top of the auditorium was a large sleek dome with expensive-looking panels. All around the entrance of the building, there were citizens and eager volunteers yearning to become members of the Hero Association and achieve fame and glory most so desperately wanted.

"This place seems quite luxurious," said Alucard, "I'm somewhat impressed."

"There must be some quality heroes," said Seras.

"Eh, maybe," stated Saitama, "Come on, let's go inside to sign up."

The four trudged through the large crowd of citizens, pushing their way through until they reached the inside of the building, where several other people were waiting in separate lines. These lines of people weren't dressed like regular people, instead having brightly-colored costumes, some of which were revealing and some of which covered their entire body, even their faces. In the center of the room, there were a few employees diligently working, finishing paperwork, talking on the phone, and typing forms on the computer.

"I suggest we go to the front desk for questions," exclaimed Genos.

"Yes, that sounds fine," replied Alucard. Genos huffed and paced toward the front desk. The three were trailing behind him as he went up to the front desk and blatantly stated, "You there."

One of the employees looked up from his work and instantly halted his work once he saw clientele in front of him. So he straightened his back, combed his hair back, and with a professional tone, said, "Hello there. How may I help you four today?"

"We'd like to register with the Hero Association," stated Genos, "I see you're holding tryouts at the moment. Could you perhaps enlist us in today's tryouts."

"Oh, well..." The man grabbed four registration forms and four pens, handing them to Genos, who then passed three papers to Saitama, who gave the other two to Alucard and Seras. "For the tryouts, the association recommends you remove most of your articles of clothing to perform to the best of your abilities. You'll just have to fill out the application forms and you'll be put on the waitlist."

"Waitlist?"

"Unfortunately, the facility is much too full today, but I can reserve you a spot for tomorrow morning at 6:00."

"6:00?!" shouted Saitama, "Are you kidding me? I'm not getting up at 5:30 in the morning!"

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do!"

"Oh, I think there is..." Everyone turned to Alucard, who was slyly smirking and not-at-all disparaged at this unfortunate news. Alucard walked up to the front of the desk, pushing Genos aside and standing face-to-face with the male employee. "You'll move us to the earliest available spots."

"Sir, I'm afraid I can't..." Fear tightened his throat and stripped him of his voice as Alucard delightfully grinned. The monster's body darkened, and he raised his hand. The symbol on his white glove glowed a bright red, and his entire hand was illuminated with a red aura.

Genos didn't like this. "What are you doing?" an angry Genos said.

Alucard held out his other hand out as a gesture to calm the ill-tempered cyborg down.

The man shivered in terror, for from Alucard's body, several eyes began to open up. With a fluid movement, Alucard extended his finger, and reached his hand out to the man's forehead. The man's eyes instantly changed to crimson red, and his nervous expression disappeared in the process, replaced by professional composure. "You'll move us to the earliest available spots."

"I... will..." Saitama and Genos stepped back, the intensity and bizarreness of what was occurring unnerving them. "I will move you all to the earliest available spots."

The man began typing rapidly on an adjacent computer for several seconds, until a soft ding came from the computer. "The next tryouts will begin in 15 minutes." The man gazed back at Alucard and gave him a small smile, which only served to unnerve Genos and Saitama even further. "All you need to do is fill out the application forms, and you will be all set."

Alucard returned the smile. "Thank you." Once the man was finished speaking, Alucard turned around to his three companions as if nothing had happened. "Well you heard him. Fill out the forms and we'll have our tryouts shortly after."

Genos rushed up to Alucard and grabbed him by his collar. "What did you do to that man?" shouted Genos.

"Ey-ey-ey!" Saitama grabbed the cyborg's arm and forced him back, "Dude, take it easy! But seriously, what'd you do that that guy?"

"I just used one of my many supernatural abilities to hypnotize him and move us up. Don't worry though, he'll be just fine once I break the connection."

"I'll take your word for it," replied Saitama, "But lay off all the glowy-eye crap, it's kinda creepy and it's not cool."

Alucard submissively put his hands up. "Very well. Now let's finish the applications and be on our way." Alucard, Seras and Saitama went right on ahead and began filling out the basic information, with Genos reluctantly joining in, still fuming about Alucard.

"Uh, Master..." Seras poked Alucard with her pen to get his attention. "What do we do about the address?"

Saitama overheard the young vampire's question. "Just put the motel I'm staying at for now. Here." Saitama put his form right in their faces, and the two vampires quickly jotted down the address.

"Ok, and that should do it!" Saitama swung his pen in the air and put both his form and pen down on the counter simultaneously. Alucard and Seras quickly followed suit, while Genos was scribbling the last details of his personal information.

"Y'almost done there Genos?"

"Yes." The cyborg wrote down his last sentence and put his form on the counter. The front desk man collected all four forms and put them to the side. "Excellent," the loopy man said, "Now go to the main auditorium just through those doors," The man pointed his finger where several other applicants were crowded around, "If you need spaces to put your personal belongings, there are locker rooms on me right-hand side. Here are some keys." He pulled open a cabinet and grabbed four keys, which he gave to each of the applicants.

"Alright, let's bounce," exclaimed Saitama, pointing his finger in the air and marching onward to the locker rooms.

"Thank you very much, sir." Alucard waved his hand in the air, and the mans crimson eyes returned to their original color. Without another word, Alucard went to join Saitama, with Seras trailing behind him. Genos, on the other hand, briefly stayed to see what happened to the man. After being freed from the hypnosis, the man shook his head in disorientation. "Uggghhhh..." He looked up to see Genos eying him with concern. But the man gave him a quizzical look and only said, "Can I help you?"

"No, thank you." The young cyborg walked away, leaving the man alone to go back to work as if nothing had ever happened.

When Genos entered the locker room, the three had already found their lockers and were in the process of opening them.

"Yo Genos! What locker are you?" said Saitama.

"I am..." Genos looked at the number inscribed on his room key, "Locker 34."

"Cool, then you're right next to me on the corner right here." Saitama patted the cyborg's locker, and he walked over to store his clothing.

The three men began removing their clothing, while the only female couldn't remove any of her clothing without revealing her true identity as a vampire.

"So do you think we're up against some serious competition?" said Seras.

"I dunno," replied Saitama, who was in the process of removing the upper portion of his suit, revealing his perfectly chiseled pectorals. Once Seras saw this, her cheeks became as red as her eyes and she turned her back to the locker room to avoid eye contact.

"I wouldn't expect much, policegirl," said Alucard, who removed his red jacket and hung in his his locker. "Given what we've seen so far and comparing it to our own abilities, I think we will do very well."

"So are we all ready?" asked Saitama.

"Yes, master."

"So let's get this show on the road!"

Alucard chuckled in amusement and placed a hand on Saitama's shoulder, causing Genos to buck to attack, but he stopped himself at the last second. "Yes, let us."

* * *

"Uggghh, this prolonged wait is striking my last nerve!"

Given the buildings status as the headquarters of the Hero Association, it would naturally be a popular place for hero tryouts, and today was no exception. In the testing auditorium, there were hundreds of applicants trying out to be members of the Hero Association. However, to cope with the larger number of applicants, the testing area was much larger than any other facility in the other cities. The auditorium was sectioned off into several different squares with different events, so they could only see a few physical tests being given, such as weight-lifting and shot puts. Additionally, they saw several people with matching uniforms leaving and entering the sections, implying they were judges rating the participant's scores.

Even with the large testing facility, Walter and The Captain had been waiting for more than half-an-hour for their turns while the other civilians finished their physical exams, but it felt like they'd been there the whole day. In addition, they had removed their shirts, and the chilly temperature was making them nippy.

"I've seen the strength of these humans: it's pathetic," exclaimed Walter, "More than half of them are barely above the level of average humans. If this represents the best this association has to offer, than this world is doomed."

While Walter was standing there complaining, The Captain had decided to read through the pamphlet they'd been given as a way to pass the time and to learn anything they might've missed. In the pamphlet, there was a brief history of the origins of the Hero Association. Apparently, the founder of the association was a very rich businessman whose grandson was saved by an ordinary civilian when his life was threatened by a monster. What a brave man he must be. As he read through it, he picked up on something that Walter might want to know. "Walter." The Captain tapped Walter on the shoulder. "What now?" asked Walter.

"According to the pamphlet," The Captain pointed at the paragraph he was referring to, "When we sign up, we'll be given hero names based on our characteristics and our heroic acts." Walter tapped the base of his chin. "I've already acquired my title as 'The Angel of Death'. I'm not quite sure there could be another nickname so suited by my power and abilities."

"Walter C. Dornez, Hans Günsche!" When he heard the 2nd name on the loudspeaker, he almost staggered backward. Did the vampire just hear that name correctly? Walter turned his head at The Captain, whose face was darkened as his head was facing the ground. "Your name is Hans?" said Walter, grinning devilishly.

The Captain walked to the testing area without giving his comrade an answer. Walter laughed in sardonic amusement. To Walter, this made the entire wait worth it.

Hans and Walter went to the first area on their right, where a few judges were seated at a table waiting to test the two of them. There were several pieces of white tape on the floor to make the process more organized.

One of the judges cleared his throat, beckoning the attention of everyone in the room. "Ok! Side-to-side hops for 30 seconds. Ready? GO!"

* * *

"Ready? GO!"

On the other side of the globe, each of the four heroes had been put into different sections for the practical purpose of quickening the pace, and at the moment, Saitama was doing side-to-side hops alongside a few other hero applicants who were waiting their turns. But what was happening didn't even look possible: Saitama was performing dozens upon dozens of side-hops per second. At the speed he was traveling, it appeared that he was in multiple places at once, when in reality they were his simply his afterimages.

As the day went on and the trials went on, the bald hero breezed through the exercises like they were nothing, because to him, they weren't. With each exercise, Saitama broke the records of previous S-class heroes by a significant margin, breaking the equipment beyond repair and making every other applicant watching him want to throw in the towel and quit. In fact, some actually did.

However, the bald hero wasn't the only one who impressing the judges of the Hero Association: Genos, Seras, Alucard, Walter, and Hans were likewise blowing the minds of the judges with their astounding abilities, amazing physical prowess and enhanced agility. This far surpassed what even the mightiest of A-class heroes could accomplish. No, the kind of strength these 6 possessed was something only a select few people on the planet possessed. This was the kind of strength the S-class heroes possessed. S-class heroes were the miracles humanity needed, and there hadn't been any recent promotions to S-class for over a year. But today, it was guaranteed that they would all reach S-class, and humanity would have 6 more guardian angels watching over them.

* * *

In City A's broadcasting station, there were dozens of lights, ladders, and cameras. A very attractive woman in a blue dress was having makeup applied to her face while the crew was getting ready for her next broadcast, specifically an interview. An interview with perhaps the most famous hero of the Hero Association, Sweet Mask. At the moment, this hero was on the phone with a staff member of the Hero Association and conversing about several applicants. "We've seen 5 hero applicants with perfect scores. One of them is the cyborg we've been looking for."

"Ah yes I've heard about that," said Sweet Mask.

"The cyborg was accompanying the two other applicants who received perfect scores, indicating a prior relationship. I understand that this is rather unconventional, but the judges have made exceptions and allowed for them to be in S-class. We just wanted to make sure you were notified."

"Yes, and I approve." He had the files of the 5 applicants on the desk, with each of their names: Genos, Seras, Alucard, Walter, and Hans, and each of them looked rather impressive. "They are definitely S-class material."

* * *

Walter and Hans had finished the physical exam over an hour ago, and they'd finished the written exam about 15 minutes ago. The two had been instructed to return to the locker room and wait for their results to be given. However, as Walter had finished getting dressed, a staff member approached him and told him that he was scheduled for an interview. Walter hesitantly accepted and was guided towards a large room, where three men with suits were waiting for him, sitting on a large heightened countertop.

"Hello there, Walter C. Dornez," said the man in the center.

"What is this about?" asked Walter, "Were my results not satisfactory? Was my written exam sub-par?"

"No, of course not!" The man on the furthest right immediately jumped to dissuade his concerns. He spoke in almost a desperate tone, as if he didn't want to anger Walter in any sort of way that would make him leave. "If anything, your physical exam was unbelievable. We rarely see applicants with such amazing talent as yours."

Walter swaggered at the admiration he was receiving from this man, since he rather enjoyed being adorned and praised as such due to the egotistical nature he developed as a child. "Why thank you. Was this why you brought me here then? To compliment me on my amazing results?"

"Actually..." The third man spoke up, "We called you here in regards to what you put on your application."

Walter felt his heart constrict. Uh-oh. Did he do something wrong? Did they figure out his contact information was false? If they did, what would they do to him? Would he be forced to take action and possibly end there lives? "What about it?" said Walter, choosing to play it cool for the time being.

"On the application, there's a section that informs us your preferred style of fight: hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, armaments, and other." The vampire inwardly sighed in relief: his secret was still secured. "And we saw you listed the "other" option."

"So what we'd like," interjected the man in the middle, "Is for you to show us what your "other" weapon or fighting style is, if that's alright with you."

"Of course. But I think some props or targets would help me demonstrate my unique weapon."

"We have that covered." The three men turned their heads to their right, and Walter saw that there were several steel target dummies prepared for him.

"Excellent." Walter turned to the man who brought him to the room. "I'd step back if I were you." The man nervously nodded and walked to the entrance.

"Now allow me to demonstrate." Walter opened up his hands. Suddenly, a flurry of blue wires appeared around him, moving about like tentacles on an octopus. The three men sitting at the table didn't understand. None of them had ever seen anything like this before. What were those things?

With imperceptible speed, the wires slashed the steel dummies into dozens of tiny pieces all at once. Then, the wires grabbed hold of the sliced pieces of metal, carried them up into the air, and smashed them down onto the ground. Only it wasn't a random order: the pieces of steel were lodged into the ground in the shape of a circle, with Walter in the center.

"THAT was my "other" option." The spectators were at a loss for words. Each of them had their mouths opened, with their eyes widened and their bodies frozen. Such deadliness, such precision. The wires were able to cut through the steel like paper. Not only that, but the speed at which they moved and the accuracy Walter was able to use them, it was truly unbelievable.

"Well, ummm..." The man on the right side of the table was the first to regain his voice. "You appear to have quite the mastery over this weapon of yours."

"Indeed," replied Walter, "It took me years, but I'm able to control these wires with deadly precision. Along with their razor-sharp edges, I'm also able to join the wires together to create shields that can block even the mightiest of blows. Observe." Walter shifted the positions of his hands, and instantly, a bright blue shield appeared in front of him, eliciting another round of gasps from the spectators. "Not only that, but as you saw before, I'm able to grab objects without slicing them." A blue wire lashed out toward the three spectators, causing them to jump in terror. But the wire wasn't aimed for them: instead, it was aimed for a cup of coffee the man in the middle had been drinking. The wire wrapped itself around the cup and brought it directly into Walters hands. The vampire butler took a small sip of the coffee, and used the wire to put it back in its original spot.

"Amazing..." uttered the man to the left, "What a powerful weapon."

"Actually, there were actually a few things I'd like to ask about," said Walter.

"Yes, of course! Anything you ask, we'll surely answer," replied the man on the left.

"First of all, could my partner Hans and I apply for the housing option?" asked Walter.

"Oh absolutely! Thomas!" The man standing at the door straightened his posture. "Yes?"

"Call Hans in here."

"Yes sir!" Thomas went sprinting across the hall, leaving the four men alone.

"We were waiting to give you your test results, but now is as good a time as ever." The man in the center picked up an envelope and held it out. Walter walked up, grabbed the envelope, and tore it open, but he didn't need to, because he already knew what score and rank he got. He pulled out the paper and smirked: sure enough, he'd been placed in S-class Rank 18 with 100/100 points. "I expected as much."

"Here he is." Walter rotated his body, and Thomas was standing at the entrance with the Captain right beside him.

"Thank you, Thomas."

"Ok. thank you sir." Thomas briskly exited the room while Hans walked up to stand beside Walter.

"Hello Hans," said the man in the middle, "We were just conversing with your comrade Walter about his test results. Here are your test results." Another envelope was in his hand, and Hans slowly walked up to retrieve it. He tore it open, yet barely batted an eye when he saw his perfect score and placement in S-class Rank 17.

"Now, about your housing option," continued the man on the right, "We have a very luxurious penthouse suite available in one of the nearby apartment complexes on the top floor. But there are several other options that we'll show you if that's alright. Thomas will be your guide."

"Yes sir."

"Very nice. And the second thing: would it be alright if I choose my hero name? It's simply something that's been in the back of my mind these past few hours."

The men glanced at each other to see their reactions. The man in the middle then said, "I don't see an issue with that. We've had some S-class heroes suggest their hero names before. What would you like your hero name to be?" Walter cleared his throat, and with a cold voice said, "The Angel of Death." A chill passed through the room for a brief moment. The men on the countertop found the name to be rather... terrifying. That was indeed a name that would strike fear into the minds of monsters, and a name worthy of an A-class hero. "We'll make sure to designate that name as your new hero nickname," said the man in the middle, somewhat worried to incur Walter's wrath. Walter politely bowed to the three men. "Much appreciated." They were taken aback by his extremely polite attitude. For an S-class hero, such a trait was becoming extremely rare, so it was nice to see a change of pace.

"And for you, Hans?" The man in the middle looked to the former Nazi werewolf, who was standing silently and respectfully. Once he heard his name, he looked up and straightened his back. "Would you perhaps like a nickname?" Hans shook his head. "Are you sure?" asked Walter. "You could use your old title under our previous employer." Hans turned to his fellow S-class hero and quietly said, "That is a name of my past. A past that I don't want to relive or have identify me."

The three men noticed the rising tension. "Is everything alright?" asked the man on the left side. Hans looked back up to the three men, innocently raised his hands to them, and replied, "Yes, everything's fine. I believe everything has been accommodated for." Hans walked up to the three men and held his hand out to them. Seeing where Hans was going with this, Walter walked up alongside him and likewise held out his hand. "Thank you very much for your time and consideration." Once again, they were surprised by both Hans and Walter's courteous nature, and smiled as they accepted the handshakes of the two newly recruited S-class heroes. "It was our pleasure. Thomas, you can take them to their first apartment option now."

"Follow me gentlemen." Thomas motioned for them to follow him, and the two S-class heroes went along to find their new home and the start of their new life.

* * *

On the other side of the planet, Saitama and Alucard were together in the locker room, while Genos and Seras were still finishing up their written exams.

"The ease of the exams was laughable," said Alucard, "We should reach the upper echelon of the Hero Association without a doubt. With your level of strength, you might be in an entirely different ranking."

The bald hero smiled. "Thanks man," said Saitama, "So when d'you think we'll get our results back?"

"I'm not quite sure," replied Alucard, "I think they'll call us on the loudspeaker."

The two picked up the sound of footsteps coming closeer to them. They turned around, and saw the two 19-year old disciples coming in behind them.

"Hello master." Both the teenagers said this simultaneously to their respective masters.

"Did you find the tests to be elementary policegirl?" asked Alucard. Seras let out a short laugh. "Oh yes. It was nothing like my police training before."

"Good to here. And you Genos?"

Genos didn't even look at Alucard and walked toward Saitama. "Master, did you find the test as simple as I did?"

"Oh yea," responded Saitama. "This was a freaking cakewalk. Alucard said we'd be getting our results soon, and they'd be calling us by the loudspeakers."

"That should be the case. However, I think it will take around an hour to get our results back. So once we get changed, we should wait here to pass the time." The four heroes finished changing back into their clothes, and fell into a rather awkward silence due to the tension surrounding the two vampires and the cyborg, and Saitama didn't really know how to break it, since he was never really good with social conventions.

About 30 minutes of uncomfortable silence, very quite conversation between the separate duos, sitting around and fiddling with their hands or looking at the ground, an announcement came up on the loudspeaker. "Would Alucard, Saitama, Genos and Seras please report for your exam results?"

"Well, let's go." Saitama bounced on up and energetically walked out, with the other three following suit. Once they exited the locker room, they made their way back to the front desk, where several other applicants were standing. Except this time, the man who'd taken care of them before wasn't there. Instead, there was an older woman of about age 40 who was taking care of the applicants.

Saitama walked up to her and tapped on the desk to get her attention. "Hey there, I'm Saitama, and this is Alucard, Seras, and Genos. We're just here to get our test results."

"Oh yes, here they are." Each hero was handed their individual envelopes. The heroes unsealed the envelopes to see their results, and just as they'd expected, they'd all gotten perfect scores. Alucard had been placed in S-class Rank 19, Genos in S-class Rank 20, and Seras in S-class Rank 21.

"Excuse me, what does this ranking mean?" asked Seras.

"That's the highest class of the Hero Association. There are four classes, and here they are in descending order: S-class, A-class, B-class and C-class. C-class is the largest and weakest class, while S-class is the smallest and most powerful class. Usually applicants aren't instantly placed in S-class, but given your perfect scores, your judges have made an exception. S-class and A-class heroes can also apply for the housing options." They all had small smiles on their faces, delighted they reached such a high ranking; well, almost all of them.

Hold on. What did the lady just say? The female vampire's eyes opened widely when an important connection clicked in her brain. "Did you sa-"

"Master? Did you make it to the top of S-class?" Genos interrupted Seras and tapped Saitama on the shoulder, for he had noticed odd behavior coming from Master Saitama. The bald hero's head was inclined downward, and he kept staring at his results for several seconds after opening the envelope.

Saitama rotated his body, revealing his blackened eyes, comical black lines running diagonally across his face, and a smile that said he was anything but happy. "I guess I bombed the essay, cuz..." Saitama lifted his paper up, revealing his score of 71/100, a barely passing grade, and his placement in C-class, the lowest class in the Association.

Genos gasped; how could Master Saitama have been placed in such a low-ranked class?

"WHAT?!" On the other hand, Alucard fiercely grabbed the paper, looking at it in detail to see if this was some sort of sadistic trick played on Saitama. When he realized it wasn't, Alucard furiously slammed the paper on the front desk, causing the seated woman to yelp of in terror. "EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF THIS!" snarled Alucard.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" His disappointed face vanished when he saw Alucard freak out and yell like that, so he grabbed Alucard by the shoulder to halt him. "Calm down dude!"

"No! I will not calm down!" Alucard pushed Saitama's hand off of him and angrily stared at the woman. "How could you place this man in such a low-ranking class?"

"Umm sir..." The woman found it hard to form a coherent sentence with a newly-recruited S-class hero yelling at her, "Unfortunately, he did very poorly in the written exam, which caused his score to drop significantly."

"But his strength is otherworldly!" said Alucard, "He received a perfect score on the physical exam! He's worlds above me in raw strength! Doesn't that take precedence over some ridiculous written exam?!" The purpose behind Alucard's explosive temper was that in his mind, a human who defeated him in battle with ease and attained unfeasible amounts of strength through sheer training should have been placed at the top ranking of the association. For everything he'd been through, he earned such a spot and the fame that came with it. To be placed in such a low ranking as this was a complete disgrace to everything Saitama worked so hard to achieve.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about it."

Seras inched up to her master. "Master-" Alucard didn't even turn an inch to acknowledge her.

"Why YOU-"

"Alucard! Enough!" Saitama forcefully grabbed Alucard's arm and spun him around so he'd be directly looking at the bald hero. Alucard's ferocious temper simmered down when he saw how serious Saitama was gazing at him. "Just relax, okay?" he said, "The important thing is that I passed. There's nothing I can do about it at this point, so don't go making a scene like this. Got it?"

After staring at Saitama and allowing for his temper to cool down, the king of vampires closed his eyes and sighed. "Very well. But you still don't deserve this."

Saitama shrugged his shoulders. "I know, but I'll learn to live with it." Seras breathed a sigh of relief, and once Alucard calmed himself down, he walked up to the front desk woman, whose face was ghostly-white. "Did you say something about housing?" asked Seras.

The blood resumed flowing through the woman's face, and she cleared her throat to gain back her voice. "Y-Yes, if you choose to be part of the housing program, you will be given a residency." Alucard, like Seras, now took interest in this and leaned in toward the woman. She nervously craned back, but once she saw Alucard was no longer enraged, she relaxed, albeit hesitantly. "The higher the ranking, the more luxurious the apartment. Additionally, many A-class and S-class heroes will be paid hefty allowances depending on the number of monsters and threats they handle."

"Is there any way we could apply right now for this housing option," said Seras, "Could we even move in today?"

"Let me see..." The woman rolled her chair slightly to the right and began searching on the computer for available housing options. After about 10 seconds of typing, she peered back at the two vampires and informed them, "At the moment, we only have one apartment available, although it's a very luxurious apartment located in the most high-end apartment complex in Y-city. No heroes or anyone in general has moved in there because of its high price, but if you want, I could register you."

"Yes, we'd like that very much," stated Alucard.

"Then I'll do that."

"Oh, and one other thing."

"Yes?"

"Could we have... other company reside with us?" The woman tilted her head. What did he mean by "other company"?

"What I mean is, let's say there was another hero we wanted to accommodate that wasn't in A-class or S-class. Could it be done?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Since it would be your property and if said person were part of the Hero Association, I wouldn't see any problems arise from such an accommodation."

"Then it means I can offer this." Alucard twisted himself around to Saitama and, to the shock of everyone, said, "Saitama, how would you like to live with us?" Genos and Seras gasped, while Saitama's mouth was slightly agape. "Ummmm... can you say that again?" asked Saitama, because he wasn't sure if he heard him right.

"Come live alongside me and my apprentice! In my mind, it's the perfect reward for all of the trouble I put you through with your house. Besides, I won't allow you to stay in the run-down motel you were in last night. With this, you won't have to go through the painful process of searching for a new apartment and having to worry about monthly bills. It's the best gift I can think of for someone in your position."

He was taken aback by the generosity being offered to him. Was there some sort of ulterior motive? Did he want to use this just to attack him up-close? He supposed that was a possibility, but after everything he's seen of Alucard, that wouldn't make sense. And the idea of a fancy apartment as such did sound pretty nice.

"Master Saitama! That isn't necessary!" Genos interjected in the conversation, for he detested the idea of having his master living under the roof of two monsters. "I can get you a place to live! The good doctor has a spare room at his house that he would surely lend to you, and if that isn't possible, I have plenty of money to pay for a lavish apartment."

"Come on Saitama," continued Alucard, "I understand your disciple's hesitation and his concern for your wellbeing, but trust me: this will be beneficial for all of us. What do you say?"

Eh, what the hell? What was there to lose? "Alright, you got yourself a deal!"

"Fantastic!" Alucard eagerly clapped his hands, and Seras gleefully jumped up, while Genos felt the blood drain from his body. He didn't care what Alucard said, he still didn't trust him. There had to be another reason.

The cyborg was, in fact, correct. There was another reason for this: secretly, Alucard wanted this opportunity to observe Saitama up-close and perhaps gain a better understanding of who he was and how exactly he'd gotten this unimaginable strength. He simply had to know: the suspense was killing him.

Once she saw the conversation had wrapped up, the front desk woman spoke up. "I'll let the apartment building know of your arrival. To get there, all you'll need to do is exit the building, head straight for about half-a-mile, make a right on Madison Avenue, and the destination should be about three buildings down. It's called Royal Point."

"Thank you for your support," responded Seras, with a generous smile as well, to which the woman promptly returned. "Now that we're all finished here, I think it would be a good idea to go immediately, so we don't waste any time dawdling."

"Sounds good to me," stated Saitama, "Let's go move into our new digs!"

* * *

 **And there's the end of Chapter 10! I'll probably add some more scenes in later, but I've been writing way too much these past few days, and I just want to update as soon as I can just because. But hopefully you liked what you saw, and the ending was unexpected for you. Also, if you're wondering why I didn't add Sneck, that was in City Z, and he wouldn't necessarily be in City Y. Also, I find the part irrelevant. Maybe I'll put it in later, but I'm too tired to add it now. Anyway, find out what'll happen in Chapter 11 of Monstrum Hominis!**


	11. Home Sweet Home

**Barely a week or two, and already Chapter 11? That's crazy! Like I said, I'm on a writing frenzy and have been really focused on writing this story. Anyway, this'll just be setting the new scene, so don't expect any action. Anyway, here's Chapter 11 of Monstrum Hominis!**

* * *

Thomas, Walter and Hans were walking on the sidewalk as the staff member was guiding them to their new apartment. As the trio was traveling through the city, civilians took small glances at the three of them, taking note of the peculiar looks of the two men and the man with the suit, who had a name tag from the Hero Association. Some quietly whispered if they were possibly new heroes, and let out small giggles of excitement and curiosity.

"And here we are." Thomas stopped in front of a very fancy building with snow-white texture and decks coming out of each room. The two heroes let out a soft hum of amazement. "Come on in." Thomas motioned for them to enter the building, and the three pushed through the sliding doors, entering an absolutely lavish lounge. The lobby had a white-granite floor with intricate patterns all across it, and in the center dangled a low-hanging chandelier just a few feet from the floor, with a circular seating area just below it. On the right, there was a water fountain with a black granite structure, and all throughout the lobby, there were fancy red, yellow, and brown chairs circled around tables with magazines and pots of very large flowers. Everything about this lobby screamed fanciness. "As you can see," said Thomas, "the apartment complex is quite luxurious. Most of these apartments are for wealthy families, although recently, more heroes have begun to move in."

For the second time today, Hans and Walter walked up to the front desk of a building, where a very handsome African American man with short hair and glasses was diligently working. "Excuse me sir," said Thomas.

The man looked up at the three of them and smiled. "Good afternoon. How may I help you?" The man noticed the Hero Association tag on his jacket, which caused his heart to skip a beat. "Oh! Yes, we received your call. Are these the two S-class heroes who're here to see the villa?"

"Yes. May we have the room key?"

"Of course! I have it right here!" The man opened up a cabinet, grabbed two magnetic key cards, and handed them to Walter and Hans. "I grabbed two just for practicality."

The two S-class heroes gave small bows, which caused the man's smile to widen. "The elevator is right down that hall."

"Thank you. We'll be on our way then."

The man politely gestured to the elevator. "Have an excellent day, and I hope you two enjoy our apartment: it's the best one we have."

"I'm sure they will," replied Thomas, before pacing to the elevator with Hans and Walter, leaving the man alone to resume his work. "Now if I remember correctly," said Thomas, "I'm pretty sure your apartment is on the 21st floor." Thomas pushed the elevator button, and surprisingly, the door immediately opened for them, since nobody was riding the elevator at the moment. The three entered the elevator, and Thomas pushed the 22nd floor button. The elevator doors slowly closed, leaving the three men standing alone in a somewhat awkward silence.

"Mr. Dornez," said Thomas, breaking the silence after a few seconds, as he had something on his mind and figured this was the time to say it, "If I may, I just want to say that I was amazed by your wires."

Walter's face lightened, and his lips formed into a small smile. "Thank you."

"And Mr. Günsche, while I didn't see you show your abilities first-hand, I was able to catch a glimpse of your physical exam, specifically on the firing range," Since Hans had two hand-held guns coupled with uncanny accuracy, he had chosen to select "long-range" as one of his preferred styles of fighting, "and I couldn't believe your accuracy. I mean, you hit every target right on the bullseye! It was unbelievable!" Like Walter, Hans couldn't help but feel somewhat flattered by this man's kind words, and he gave Thomas another small smile.

Then, the elevator dinged, and the doors slowly opened. The hallway had a black desk with two vases of flowers and a mirror hanging above the desk; for the floor, the designers chose to add long, dark oak tiles, and on the wall, there were several pictures of A-city and the nature around it. The three walked out of the elevator, and Thomas began looking at the room numbers to find out which one belonged to Walter and Hans. They continued to walk along the hallway until Thomas abruptly stopped when he reached a room at the end of the hallway.

"2114, this is it. Now if one of you could just..." Walter took his key card out and slid it across the lock. The lock beeped green, and they could hear the sound of the door being unlocked. Walter turned the knob and opened the door to see his new apartment. Now, Walter had a pretty rigorous standard when it came to luxury, and he had to say, this met it and then some. The first thing he noticed was the expansive windows that showed a breathtaking view of City A and the lush rolling hills just beyond the city border. For the lounge, there was a large white sofa and two white sofa-chairs and a large tv opposite of the sofa. Once they entered, both Walter and Hans began to explore the room out of curiosity, while Thomas stood still and waited for the two heroes to finish their exploring. To the right of the door, there was a kitchen with a granite countertop, with several burners on the counter, a stove below it, a microwave on the upper left, and a stainless steel fridge on the far left. Meanwhile, Walter noticed that there were at least three bedrooms, each with several pillows and fluffy white blankets. He then entered the main bathroom; when he did, he saw the floor consisted of small stone squares with different pattern colors. Not only did the bathroom have a shower with not one, but two shower-heads, but there was also a large hot tub on the far left. "Hmph," uttered Walter. "Not bad at all."

Once Walter exited the room, Hans came in next, and after about half-a-minute, they'd seen everything they needed to see and both met up near the door, where Thomas was still waiting. "So, does this room meet your standards?" questioned Thomas, "Would you like to visit a few other apartment complexes to get a better idea of the options you have?"

"No, I think this apartment will be more than enough. Wouldn't you agree Hans?" The Captain responded by giving a very small head-shake.

"Well alrighty then. I'll just let the front desk know of your decision and leave you gentlemen be. If you have any other questions about your apartment or the building, just contact the front desk below, and the headquarters is right next door. It was a pleasure, but I'm afraid I must be going now." Thomas walked out of the room and quickly said, "Have a fabulous rest of your day, gentlemen." And with that, the staff member closed the door, leaving the two S-class heroes alone in their new home.

* * *

"Damn dude, this place looks awesome!" The four heroes in City Y were in marvel at the luxury this apartment building possessed. Just as the two monsters in City A, the quartet were rather amazed by the marble floor, miniature waterfall, and several high definition televisions spread across the lobby.

"Ah hello there!" A woman standing at the front-end of the main desk ran up to them eagerly, as if she'd been waiting for someone. Well it turned out, she's been waiting for them. "The new S-class heroes! It's so amazing to meet such quality heroes in-person. Here, I already have your room keys." In her hand were two card keys which she gave to Alucard and Seras, "Your apartment in on the 19th floor, room 25. If you need anything, just dial the main desk and we'll immediately pick up."

"Much appreciated," uttered Alucard, "And where is the elevator?"

"Oh, it's right over there." The woman pointed to her left, where there were two elevators with gold-painted doors.

"Thanks," said Saitama, and with that, the four heroes made their way to the elevators. "Have a blessed day!" yelled out the woman.

"You too," replied Seras, along with a small salute of praise. Saitama pressed the button and waited for the elevator door to come down. "Which door do you thinks gonna open first?" wondered Saitama, "I call the door on the left." As it by magic, the left elevator dinged, and the doors quickly opened. Saitama let out a small laugh of triumph. "Called it!" All three heroes smiled at the bald hero's enthusiasm. It was rather inspiring to see him so emotional with his clinical boredom. The four heroes entered the confined space, and Genos pressed the 19th floor button. After a few seconds, the elevator doors closed, and the elevator began moving up. After about 10 seconds of silent waiting, the elevator reached the 19th floor and opened up.

"Look for signs that say the room numbers," said Saitama. Once he exited, he noticed a sign with the numbers 13-25 signaling to go to the left. "Well come on!" The four of them followed Saitama's lead and walked through the brightly lit hallway, until they reached their room number. Seras waved the card in front of the electronic lock, and the door unlocked. Seras pushed the door open, and the four heroes were greeted with a stunning apartment room. There were large windows with a deck that showed the expansiveness of Vity Y. There was a very nice kitchen with several high-end appliances. Saitama paced to see the different bedrooms, and there were at least four separate bedrooms with white bedsheets and closets. At least one had an individual bathroom with acceptable features that were still way better than what Saitama was dealing with at the motel. He then went into the main bedroom to look at the main bathroom, and when he did, he gasped: the floor was marble, just like the apartment lobby. The shower had glass doors, and two shower heads: one directly above the drain, and another in the typical position found in all showers. Beside it, there was a hot tub, and he immediately knew he was going to be using that.

Saitama paced back to the lounge area, where Seras was curiously observing everything like Saitama, whereas Genos and Alucard were standing in place. "This place is really nice."

"Wait Saitama, what about your personal belongings?" The bald hero frowned: he had completely forgot about his shit at the motel. Saitama groaned out in frustration and slapped his hand to his face. "Gah, that's a real moodkiller, and just when I was about to kick back and relax. Alright, I'll go run out and come back as quickly as possible. Genos, you stay here with Alucard and Seras, and as your first lesson, I'm demanding you have some conversation with them." The cyborg's fists tightened, and his lips pursed. "Look, these two are pretty cool, and to tell you the truth, I'm getting sick-and-tired of all the awkward silences, so make nice with them!"

Genos grudgingly obeyed his orders. "Yes master."

"Good. When I get back, I'm gonna ask you what you talked about. Got it? Anyway, I'll see you in about 5-10 minutes." Saitama bolted out the door and left the three alone.

Alucard nudged his head to the couch. "You heard your master," said Alucard, "Let's engage in some dialogue. Now, I hardly know anything about you beside that you're a cyborg, so let us begin with that. When and for how long have you been a cyborg?"

"It was four years ago, when..." Genos stopped himself: he didn't care what his master said, he wouldn't be disclosing such personal information and sensitive details to these monsters. Not now, not ever. "When I was in an accident. My body was damaged beyond repair, and I was surely going to perish." The female vampire's body drooped down and she took a seat on one of the sofa chairs, and the other two followed suit as they attempted to ease the tension in the air. "However, I was fortunate enough that a good doctor was passing through and found me. As my internal organs were damaged beyond repair, the only choice remaining for me was to become a cyborg."

"Wow," exclaimed Seras, "I didn't think there were other people forced into a situation where they had to abandon their bodies and their past lives..." Seras quickly trailed off, and Genos didn't understand why. He couldn't get what she was getting at. "What do you mean?" said Genos.

She slowly rubbed her forehands. "Believe it or not, I've only been a vampire for less than a year," replied Seras, "Before that, I was a police officer in-training."

Genos snorted. "You're speaking lies," claimed Genos, "I will not believe that you had a normal life before becoming the monster you are now."

"What reason would I have to lie?" retorted Seras with a shrill voice. "Please just let me go on!" Genos sighed in annoyance and became silent, signifying that he was allowing her to continue. "Alright. Anyway, my life in the police force was tough and rigorous, but I'd adapted and was ready to do my duty as a police officer. But one day, my squad and I were sent to investigate a disturbance in a nearby village. When we arrived, we were attacked by ghouls, which is basically another term for zombies under control by a vampire."

Genos took a moment to piece together this information, and once an idea popped in his head, he darkly stared at Alucard. "I'm assuming you were the one controlling that army of ghouls?"

Seras shook her head. "No, it wasn't him. In fact, it was him who saved my life. The vampire was a malevolent priest who intended to rule the world with his army of ghouls. Eventually, he surrounded me, but just before he was going to turn me into his personal ghoul, my master came. Using his holy weaponry specifically designed for eliminating vampires, he killed the vampire's entire army of ghouls. Being the coward he was, the vampire priest took me hostage and attempted to flee. However, my master shot me in the heart." Genos staggered back; even though she was a monster, and even though she could be lying, if what she said was indeed true, to be placed through such a hell must have been terrifying. And to know that monster Alucard was responsible for such a despicable act! Genos shot Alucard one of his venomous stares and tightly gripped the armrests of his chair. "HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A DESPICABLE THING?!" shouted Genos.

Alucard spread his hands out wide. "Calm yourself Genos! I was left with no choice. Any other attempt to free her, and that vampire would have most certainly ended her life."

"That's right," added Seras, "I don't blame my master for what he did, so please just contain yourself!" The teenage cyborg was prepared to push Alucard back, but Genos remembered his master's words, so he lowered himself into the chair and allowed Seras to finish her story.

"So I was lying in a puddle of my own blood, on the verge of death, when my master came up to me. He apologized for his actions and offered me a choice: to either die then and there, or to live on as a vampire. As you can see, I chose to live and fight on as a vampire."

"Very similar to you." Alucard continued on from where Seras left off. "You could have chosen to succumb to your grievous wounds and die as a human, but instead, you chose to abandon your human body and become a cyborg to fight monsters and protect citizens. For the cherry on top, you're both 19 years of age."

Genos stared Alucard down and inched his chest forward in the male vampire's direction. "And what about you? Is your story as heart-felt and tragic as your servant's?"

The King of Vampires chuckled, throwing his head back. The teenage cyborg was attempting to push his buttons and get a response from him, yet such tactics wouldn't work on Alucard. After a few seconds, his laughter died down and he looked back at Genos.

"To answer your question, no, my story is not nearly as tragic as the policegirls." Alucard leaned his back into the chair. "Throughout my life, I've spent more than half of it on the battlefield, commanding armies, raiding cities, and slaughtering the enemies. I've committed too many atrocities to count in my 500-year life." Now, Alucard's confident smirk disappeared, and for the briefest of moments, Genos detected the vampire's body shake. Oftentimes, the body shakes when experiencing sadness, but why would this monster feel any sort of sadness? If he pared the lives of thousands upon thousands, his humanity would be all-but-gone. None of this made any sense.

Yet in an instant, Alucard's smirk returned and he straightened his posture. "I am a true monster. I don't expect you to like me. I don't even expect you to respect me, but I find it important for you to know that I respect you. You and your master."

The cyborg's fierce hatred prevented him from appreciating the gravity of Alucard's praise, but these words, Genos believed they were heartfelt. He sensed no trace of trickery, mockery or derision: this monster truly meant what he said.

Seras continued on with the conversation. "So how long have you been fighting as a cyborg?"

Genos turned his head to face Seras. "I've been a cyborg of justice for three years; it took me approximately a year to complete my cyborg body and adjust to my pyrokinetic abilities. Once I did, I set out on a path to eliminate monsters and punish evildoers. Throughout my time, I handled several evil organizations and defeated many monsters with relative ease. It was only two days ago in my fight with the mutant mosquito that I was met with some struggle."

Someone began knocking on the door rapidly, and it was pretty easy guess for who it was. Genos jumped up and opened the door, and sure enough, Saitama was there with his bag of belongings in his right hand. Saitama's eyebrows lowered slightly when he saw his disciple at the door. "So what'd you talk about?" questioned Saitama, hoping his disciple had done something productive while he wasn't there." I know I wasn't gone for long, but I hope you guys did some socializing."

"I did as you asked master," confirmed Genos. Alucard raised his hand up and looked up at Saitama. "I can vouch for his claim. We were conversing about our pasts."

"Cool." With this brought up, Saitama lightly tapped his chin with his fingers. "You know, now that you mention it, I know practically nothing about you guys. Like how did you guys become vampires? And why were you there when that mosquito thing was terrorizing City Z?"

"To answer that question requires an in-depth explanation."

"Master Saitama does not like long stories," said Genos, "If you're going to give an answer, make it 20 words or less."

Alucard innocently shrugged his shoulders. "I can try, although it will be difficult."

Saitama put his hand up to his disciple's face. "Genos, it's cool." Saitama made his way to the large sofa and sat down, slouching down on the comfortable seats. "We've got the time. I'll try to bear it as best as I can, but just try not to drag it on, if you don't mind."

"I'll do my best. Genos, take a seat."

"Yea Genos, sit on the couch," added Saitama, patting the seat next to him.

"Yes master!" Genos briskly took his seat next to his master. Everyone's attention was now directed to Alucard; seeing that he was now on the spotlight, Alucard cleared his throat and prepared his story.

"Now this might sound very far-fetched, but just bear with me: the policegirl and I, we are not of this world."

Saitama and Genos widened their eyes and turned their heads to each other to see if they heard right. "Are you screwing with us?" said Saitama.

"He's telling the truth," replied Seras, "This isn't the home that we're familiar with."

"I understand the disbelief," stated Alucard, "But I assure you that I'm not tricking you in any way. Now, the world we come from is vastly different from yours. Unlike your world, the existence of monsters is considered nothing but rumor, and anyone who believes in their existence is considered a fool. Nonetheless, monsters do indeed exist, and most of them are vampires. The policegirl and I are part of an organization called the Hellsing Organization that is tasked with eliminating vampires. The head of this organization is my master, Integra Fairbrooks Willgates Hellsing."

"Jesus, that's a mouth-full," said Saitama, "Is she here?"

"Unfortunately not. The main members are myself, Seras, and Master Integra's butler, Walter C. Dornez. Now, there is also an opposing organization known as Iscariot is tasked with the same job, and their most powerful warrior was Alexander Anderson. Unfortunately, we didn't get along very well due to being vampires ourselves. We ran into each other quite a few times, and it was often very ugly. Anyway, we discovered the existence of an organization of vampires under the name of Millennium. Heading this group of monsters is a pudgy, short man of pure evil that goes by the name of "The Major." Now you believe you've seen psychopaths? This madman brings an entirely new meaning to the phrase, "Some men want to watch the world burn." After arrogantly attacking our manor, we began our quest in tracking down and eliminating this organization. Throughout our endeavor, we encountered several of their highest-ranking members and killed them. Eventually, they initiated their main assault on a city capital with a population of around 3 million. At the same time, the Iscariot Organization and Anderson invaded the city to eliminate Millennium; all-in-all, there were about 4,000 soldiers. Due to the sheer number of soldiers, I was forced to release my Level Zero restraint, the same release level I unleashed upon you Saitama." Saitama remembered it all-too-well. "Anderson soon went on the offensive, paring through the army of familiars alongside his footsoldiers. To sum up the battle, I was victorious." The way Alucard said this last sentence sounded like he wasn't happy about his victory. Saitama noted this but decided to keep his mouth shut for now.

"Once I defeated Anderson, a new fighter came to fight me, and to all of our shock, that fighter was Walter." Once again, Saitama and Genos widened their eyes, while the female vampire's bottom lip momentarily jutted out. "It turns out he'd been a double agent working for Millennium. He'd underwent a surgical procedure that turned him into an artificial vampire, doing so in the hopes of ending my life. My master ordered with great sadness I kill him, yet just before we were about to do battle, he, myself, and Seras were suddenly enveloped in a bright light. Before we knew it, we were transported to your world, and in the afternoon, we ran into you."

"Damn." Alucard had quite the story to tell. It sounded hard to believe, but then again, with the crazy world of monsters they lived in, it didn't really sound that ridiculous. "Do you have any idea how you were brought here?" asked Saitama.

"Not the faintest idea," replied Alucard. With nothing left to talk about, the four of them fell into a momentary silence. "So..." Once again, Saitama broke the silence, "D'you guys wanna head out to get a bit to eat? I haven't eaten anything all day."

Seras and Alucard didn't see any problem with that. "I'd like to eat some dinner," said Seras, but then she caught a little snag. "But master, will we be able to eat anything? Since we're vampires, our tastes have changed so that we can't stand regular food."

"It does limit our options for meals, but we can still eat most forms of meat. Steak cooked rare in particular would be the next-best option for dining in public."

"Understood."

"I have enough money to pay for all four of us," said Genos, "So don't worry about having to find cash, Master Saitama."

"Thanks Genos. Well then-" Saitama stood up and waved his hand toward the door. "What're we waiting for? I'm starving!"

* * *

While the four S-class heroes in City Y had just left their new apartment, the two S-class heroes in City A were already out prowling the streets, searching for someplace they could possibly find to eat, although it was pointless. They'd been on the search for about an hour now, but unfortunately for them, they didn't have any cash to pay with, and it was very unlikely that any one would just give them free food. They could maybe try to use their new status as S-class heroes, but they'd just registered today, meaning nobody would know about their registry until a few days, so they'd just call them liars.

Walter sighed. "Let's just return to our apartment. We can wait a few days before eating; our bodies can handle it."

"Oh my god! I think I'm gonna faint!" Walter and Hans were drawn to the crowd of people surrounding someone, admiring them and drooling over them like hungry dogs being given treats by their master. The crowd was getting closer and closer to them, until the crowd merged with them, revealing the man they were admiring. The first thing that drew their attention was his extremely handsome appearance. He was a tall and lean-built young man with messy, shoulder-length light blue hair and luminous yellow eyes. He wore a white jacket over his gray shirt with a green circle necklace and black trousers. When he saw the two monsters, he shone them a dazzling smile.

The man opened his arms and eagerly said"Hans! Walter! It's such a pleasure to finally meet you!"

Hans and Walter didn't understand what this was. "How do you know our names!" asked Walter, still uneasy and hesitant to reciprocate the pleasant aura this man was emanating.

"Ah! Forgive me! Allow me to introduce myself." The man held out his hand, and Hans was the first who reached out to shake it. "I'm from the Hero Association. My name is Sweet Mask. I'm Class A, Rank 1, and I'm a member of the hero rank evaluation." Sweet Mask tugged a lock of his long hair behind his ear. "I noticed your perfect scores and I was very impressed, so impressed that I wanted to come out and greet you personally."

Once Hans released his grip from Sweet Mask's hand, it was Walter's turn to firmly shake the A-class hero's hand. "Thank you. But how did you know where we were?"

"One of the Hero Association staff members gave me the address of the apartment you were staying in, and I was just on my way to meet you."

"I see. Well, we were searching for a place to have dinner, but unfortunately we don't have enough money to purchase a decent meal, so we were just about to head back to apartment."

Sweet Mask took in a sharp breath. "What? That's absurd! I won't allow two new S-class heroes to go to bed hungry!" The A-class hero gestured his hand to himself. "Allow me to take you out! My treat!"

Taken aback by such a generous offer, Walter put his hands out to dissuade such an idea. "No, don't worry about us, it's really no big-"

"No no! I insist!" Sweet Mask repeatedly waved his hand to the two heroes. "Come with me, I know a very fancy restaurant we can go to. I'm sure you'll love it!" The admirers crowded around Sweet Mask ooed and let out gasps of amazement. "He's so generous!"

"I want to marry him!"

"You're the best hero ever!"

Sweet Mask closed his eyes and put his hands up. "Stop, stop. While I appreciate your admiration, I'd also appreciate it if you let us be: I have some things I'd like to talk about with them." The crowd's attitude instantly changed, and several of them groaned out. However, they also understood this was a big deal, and they dispersed, but not before taking a few quick snapshots for the road.

While the crowd of people was leaving, Walter nudged Hans in the ribcage and whispered in his ear. "Do you think we should?"

Hans craned his head towards Walters ear and softly replied, "I see no reason we shouldn't." Having reached a quick consensus, the two of them nodded and walked behind Sweet Mask as he led the way to the restaurant. As they walked through the street, several citizens recognized Sweet Mask and were frozen in place, while others let out dreamy sounds and admired the hero from afar.

Walter took note of this and rose his voice to say to Sweet Mask, "You seem to be quite popular among the civilians."

Sweet Mask's lips slightly curved upward. "I am indeed. Due to my handsome appearance, my status as an A-class hero, and appearing on several public broadcasts, I am one of the most, if not the most, popular hero in the world. It's a title that I bear with pride."

"Interesting..." They continued walking for about 5 minutes, while Sweet Mask politely asked the civilians to step away and clear a path for the three of them. Finally, Sweet Mask stopped walking when they were standing in front of a very luxurious restaurant. Through the windows, the three of them could see several customers wearing fancy clothing dining and making chit-chat. "After you." Sweet Mask opened the door for Walter and Hans, who accepted the gesture and entered the restaurant. Upon entering, they saw a woman standing at the podium. She pulled her head up, and her heart skipped a beat. "M-M-Mr. Sweet Mask! Good evening!"

"And to you as well." Sweet Mask walked up to the podium until he was only half-a-foot away from the employee, causing her face to mildly blush. "I'd like a table for three."

"We have a table in the upper wing available. I'll escort you." The four of them walked through the room, where the customers stared in awe at Sweet Mask's presence. They scaled up a flight of stairs, and then entered a room with only five tables and no one eating there. The room had large windows to see City A and the setting sun, and on the tables there were lit candles that only accentuated the high-class nature of the restaurant. The three of them took their seats, and the employee stood with her hands in front of her. "I'll get a waiter up here right away."

"Thank you. That will be all." The employee gave a quick nod and almost sprinted out of the room. "Now..." Sweet Mask turned around and kindly smiled at the two heroes. "I just wanted to use this golden opportunity to get a chance to talk to you."

"About what?" said Walter. Instead of replying to Walter's question, his eyes directed themselves toward Hans, whom he was more interested in at the moment. "You know, I never got to see your face since you were wearing your hat and kept your mouth covered in your photo. May I... have a better look? I'm just curious to see the man behind the mask." The werewolf took his hat off and lowered the collar of his coat. Sweet Mask had to say, he was rather impressed. While the red eyes may've been a little off-putting, his face was very well-sculpted with no visible flaws, and his white hair also had a very soft and silky appearance. This was a handsome man indeed. "I like what I see," exclaimed Sweet Mask and continued to further delve into the history of these two. "If you don't mind me asking, what made you want to sign up with the Hero Association, and why wait so long to register?"

Before Hans could give an answer, Walter interjected with, "Just a fair warning, he's not a very talkative individual."

"I only talk when it's important." Hans gave an icy glare to Walter before looking back at Sweet Mask. "We had to train for quite some time in order for us to become this strong, so we didn't want to register before we felt we were ready.

"Perfectly understandable," responded Sweet Mask. The sound of quick footsteps filled the room, and a waiter paced up to the three heroes. "Hello there, my name is Steven, and I'll be your waiter today." He gave the three fighters menus he had in his hand. "May I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'll have some water," said Walter.

"I will as well," continued Hans.

"I'd like some water too," finished Sweet Mask.

"Right away gentlemen." Steven jogged out of the room to get them their water. "As I was saying, with your remarkable power and handsome appearances, I believe you'll make amazing heroes." Sweet Mask could tell they weren't quite getting Sweet Mask's reference of appearances, so he backed up his logic. "A hero must always be a beautiful symbol of justice." Sweet Mask's jovial tone became more serious and deep, "That is my philosophy, especially if you're S-class."

Walter could see where Sweet Mask was coming from. During his time as a butler, appearances were essential to maintain their social image in society, and they were also important in their work. A messy scene with blood and guts only made things more troublesome for the Hellsing Organization. "Understandable perspective. In my line of work, we had to keep up appearances."

"Finally! Someone who understands!" Sweet Mask let out a short laugh and placed a hand on Walter's shoulder. Walter nervously chuckled and stood in place, a bit off-put by his sudden openness and kindndess.

"Here is your water." Steven came rushing up from behind them with a platter of water. He put three glasses for each of them and poured the water into each of the glasses. "Have you decided on what you'd like to order?"

"Just give us a couple of minutes, if you would."

"Yes sir." Once again, Steven walked out to leave the three heroes alone. Sweet Mask withdrew his hand from Walter's shoulder and opened up the menu. "Pick whatever meal you find most appetizing, cost is no trouble at all. I'm sure we'll have a great night ahead of us."

* * *

"Man, that was an awesome meal!" Traveling up the elevator after a hearty meal, the four heroes were conversing with one another with smiles on three of their faces, while the sole mood-killer stood with a lifeless gaze, playing the part of a machine. "Thanks again Genos for paying for the meal."

Now, Genos actually smiled for the first time since the vampires had met him. "Of course Master."

"The steak was actually pretty good," said Seras.

"You could really taste the blood," joked Alucard, eliciting a chuckle from Saitama and an uncomfortable expression from Seras. The elevator bell dinged, and the doors opened up for them. Once they made it to their apartment, Saitama ran up and jumped onto the couch. "God, this is so soft!" exclaimed Saitama, "It's awesome!"

"Alright, if you don't mind," Seras walked into the master bedroom and locked the door behind her, "I'm going to take a well-deserved hot shower."

"Sounds good," shouted Saitama. The bald hero lifted his head up from the couch and looked at Genos. "Genos, you can go now." The cyborg didn't move a muscle; he didn't like the idea of leaving his master behind with two monsters. He still didn't trust these two. Saitama immediately sensed this and sat up. "Genos, it'll be fine."

"Genos, your concerns are noble but ultimately pointless." Alucard chimed in and spoke to Genos, "There isn't a single thing I can do to Saitama that can harm him. If there was, I would have tried it already in our battle. Trust me."

"You heard the man! No go on! Skidaddle! That's an order!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Genos tightened his fists in frustration, yet he knew there was no point in arguing, and walked toward the door. But before he made his way to the door, he fished something out of his pocket and put in on the table. Saitama extended his next out to see what it was, and he faintly gasped when he saw Genos put money on the table. "Here is some money for you to purchase breakfast and any other groceries. Please accept it."

Saitama chuckled in disbelief. "Th-Thanks Genos." Genos gave a small smile and resumed his walk to the door. When he had his hand on the knob, he turned around and said to his master, "Good night master."

"G'night Genos." With one final glance, Genos opened the door and exited the apartment, leaving Saitama and Alucard alone. "Well Alucard, what bed do you want?"

"It's irrelevant to me."

"In that case, I'll take the master bedroom. I've been sleeping in a freaking sleeping bag for more than a year, I think I deserve to sleep in an actual bed."

"You most certainly do, Saitama." Saitama got up from the couch, grabbed his bag of belongings, and threw it onto the master bed. "I'm just gonna doze off and leave the door open for Seras. Can you tell her to close the door when she leaves?"

"I'll be sure to."

"Thanks. Well then, good night Alucard."

"Good night Saitama. I'm sure tomorrow will be even more thrilling than today."

Saitama let out a laugh. "Sure buddy, sure."

* * *

 **HAHA! Until Chapter 12!**


	12. Paradise Lost

_Hey what's up?! Chapter 12 is up, and it's gonna a recap of the Paradisers arc with a few additions, but hopefully you'll still like it. So enjoy!_

* * *

"Yyyyyyyaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn..." Saitama's eyes slowly creaked open, and was met with the dim rays of light coming from the cracks of the window covered by a curtain. Upon gaining consciousness, the bald hero instinctively smiled: last night had been the best night of sleep he'd had in a long time, and the first time he'd slept in an actual bed as well. The mattress was soft and plump, like a small cloud. Not only that, the multiple large pillows around his head were like marshmallows, and the thick blanket was like a layer of fire, keeping him toasty warm. It was exactly what he needed to start his day off fresh. Saitama tossed his blankets off of him and bounced off the bed. "I wonder where I'm gonna get breakfast." He scratched his head for a few seconds, when his face lit up. "I think I saw a place next-door that looked pretty nice. Maybe I'll take Alucard and Seras to check it out."

Saitama opened the door, and was greeted with the the sight of the two monsters doing the ever-so-human activity of watching television. An image of the daily stock report was nestled on the top-right corner of the television, while the reporter lazily spoke his lines. Saitama's eyes went to the kitchen clock, where the hands were pointed at 7:30. Saitama softly cleared his throat.

The corners of their mouths were raised up. "Good morning, Saitama," said Alucard.

Seras brightened. "How did you sleep?"

"I gotta say, it was the best sleep I've had in years." His response only served to widen the vampire's smiles. "That's great to here," replied Seras.

Saitama gratefully gave a small smile in response. Saitama paced over to the seat next to Alucard and slung his right arm around the edge of the sofa chair."So why're you guys watching the news?"

Alucard took from Saitama's example and relaxed his rigid posture. "Well, I wanted to get more acquainted with this new world, it's history, it's system of government, and it's current events, so I figured that watching the news would be the best way to do that."

The bald hero nodded. "And have you learned anything useful?"

Seras shook her head. "Not really. From what we've seen, there're several similarities to our world, including the system of government, economy, and communication."

"In other words, we haven't learned anything particularly useful. So far, today's events have been rather uneventful." Alucard extended his leg outward, but he was met with a jolt of pain. He grimaced, letting out a low scowl. Saitama's right eyebrow shot up. "Are you alright man?" Saitama inched closer to Alucard, checking to see if there was some sort of obvious wound he'd missed. Alucard raised his hand up to Saitama's face. "It's fine," said Alucard through fake indifference, "My body is still healing from our monumental duel two days ago."

Saitama's eyebrow was still raised up, however. "Can't your body just regenerate?"

Alucard let out a soft, sardonic chuckle. "Normally it should, but my body was pushed beyond its limits, and my regenerative abilities have been significantly dulled. I think it will take at least another day before I'm back to working order."

"Good to here. Well..." Saitama rotated his body to face the television. "Since it's only 7:30, I think we can wait another 30 minutes before going out to get breakfast. Until then, might as well watch the news. Who knows? Maybe somethin' interesting'll pop up."

* * *

It was a regular weekday morning in City F. Cars were lined up bumper to bumper on the interstate as people were anxiously waiting for the traffic to clear up, the responsibility (and for most, misery) of their jobs waiting for them. While many didn't like it, this was the way society worked, and nothing they did could change that. However, there were a few people in the bustling city that weren't willing to just accept living in such a burdening and unfair society, and in the plaza of City F, there was a group of these people who were taking charge and doing something about it.

Standing in the center of the plaza were dozens of men with identical black, full-body suits. For some reason, all of these men were completely bald, their oily scalps giving off a faint reflection in the bright sunlight. At the helm of this ship of misfits was a man of hulking stature. His size dwarfed all of his cohorts; while he also possessed a battle suit, there were flame decals emblazoned across its torso and thighs. Across his nose was a large scar, only serving to further intimidate and puzzle passersby.

"Answer me this: why are we forced to work?" His voice thundered across the plaza, causing shivers to run through his army. "Why must we pay money to eat? It's insane! Can't we all just share? Look around!" The man gestured to all of the tall and luxurious buildings surrounding the plaza. "The rich get fat while the poor starve and die! Where is the freedom in this world? Does it even exist? We're all slaves to our work! And is work fun? No! How could it be? We do not want to work period!" He shot his fist up into the air and shouted, "That's why I, Hammerhead, will change our society! I'll make it so that only those who want to work will work, and the rest will be supported! We will create a utopian world, and the Paradisers, lead by Hammerhead, will realize this!"

Hammerhead expected a surge of applause and praises from the walking citizens, even a few shouts of admiration, but instead, his words of passion were being utterly ignored as the people were going on with their day-to-day lives. Hammerhead lifted an eyebrow. From behind him, one of his followers proceeded to state the obvious, "Boss, nobody's listening!"

"All these damn idiots!" Hammerhead clenched his teeth tightly, the casual attitude of everyone in the face of his presence making his blood boil. "They're-they're not ready for us anyway!" proclaimed Hammerhead, trying to act as if their attention was irrelevant, choosing instead to focus on one of the major goals of the Paradisers. "Let's go! That guy Zeniru's loaded! We'll go wreck his lush penthouse to show everyone we mean business!"

The Paradisers cheered on in delight, trailing behind Hammerhead as they made their way toward Zeniru's penthouse, all-the-while oblivious to the awkward stares from citizens and a few concerned mothers urging their children to stay away from them.

After about 10 minutes of walking and uneasy stares from F-city citizens, the Paradisers finally made it to Zeniru's penthouse, which was in actuality an apartment complex with dozens of floors. A paradiser with very large buck teeth derisively laughed. "What a showoff!" he said, "This whole building is his house." In contrast, however, Hammerhead's entire body began trembling with rage. The sight of such opulence in the face of overwhelming poverty made his insides turn. "There's no way in hell he made so much money legally!" said Hammerhead, his mouth closed in a tight line. "It's unforgivable! Bring it down!" Hammerhead turned to one of his subordinates, who instantly took the cue. "Yes sir!" The paradiser craned his arm back; then, a huge accumulation of energy gathered in his right fist, causing it to swell up like a balloon.

"Grah!" The paradiser threw the energy-imbued punch with a loud shout. The large building was knocked off of its foundation and forced back several feet. Immediately, the building began to fall to the ground in a very dangerous fashion, kicking up dust clouds that spewed across the city streets and caused citizens to run in terror.

The Paradisers stood over the wreckage of the building, beaming in delight. The Paradiser who destroyed the building deactivated his powered-up punch, causing his arm to return back to normal size. "The target has been eliminated." On his right, Hammerhead's mouth was curled up in delight of Zeniru's destroyed building and satisfaction of the power of their battle suits. "Man these things really pack a punch," stated Hammerhead. "I mean sure, we were forced to steal them, but in the grand scheme of things, it's all for a noble cause."

"Uhhh..." Their victory was short-lived, for one of the Paradisers was holding a map in his hands and his cheeks were mildly red. "That was the wrong building." Hammerhead's smile turned upside down, his expression hardening in frustration. He turned his head around to angrily stare at the Paradiser; Hammerhead's angry look made his bald scalp prickle with shame. "Turns out his house is a little further up." For a few moments, everything remained still as the Paradisers nervously waited to see their boss's reaction. In a surprising turn of events, however, Hammerhead's temper did not explode. "Whatever! Everyone makes mistakes!" he assured, "But the important thing is to learn from them! Am I right!"

The Paradiser immediately jumped to support his assertion, relieved that he wouldn't have to pay for his mistake with his life. "Yes you are!"

With the passion of his cause flowing through his veins, Hammerhead screamed to his followers, "THEN ONWARDS TO ZENIRU'S!" His followers eagerly reciprocated his passion and yelled approvingly in unison. With the power of these suits and the anger of these terrorists together, they posed serious danger. If only there were someone strong enough to stop them...

* * *

While citizens were fleeing in panic from the terrible terrorists, anyone would have utterly ignored a little boy's cry for help. For him, something terrible had happened: his balloon got stuck in a tree. Such a minute and irrelevant problem would be ignored by 99.99% of the population, but at that moment, the .01% had heard the cry for help and answered the call. That man was the top ranking C-class hero, Mumen Rider, and he was on the top of the tree, reaching his hand out to grab the red balloon. With the tips of his two fingers pinched together, he managed to latch onto the tip of the balloon's handle, and promptly climbed down the tree. The boy's watery eyes lit up with happiness, and he ecstatically ran up to his hero.

With his work done, Mumen Rider walked back to his trademark bicycle and prepared to answer the next cry for help, but the boy stopped him before he could leave. "You're amazing!" said the child with heartfelt gratitude, "Thanks a lot, bicycle guy!"

The C-class hero looked at the child and shot back a thumbs up and a smile. And with that, Mumen Rider sped off, beginning his search to find the next cry for help, and fortunately for him, that cry wasn't far away.

* * *

In the luxurious apartment where the newly promoted S-class heroes were staying in, they were continuing to watch television together, still not having found anything substantially interesting. Well, so they thought.

"The heated debacle between the two politicians was very fierce tonight, as-" The news reporter was instantly cut off, as the text on the teleprompter abruptly changed. "I interrupt this report to reveal some breaking news." The bored expressions on the faces of the three heroes changed upon seeing this new revelation. "A building in City F has been completely obliterated, and riots have been running rampant throughout the city. We've received intel that the ones responsible for this are a group of terrorists, and the situation is quickly spiraling out of control." The reporter paused for a moment, receiving some new intelligence. "I just received word that the identity of their leader has been discovered." The imagery switched to a picture of a bulky man arrogantly smiling. The eyes of Seras and Alucard nominally widened, while Saitama's neutral face returned. Saitama was used to seeing incidents publicized like this: to him, this was nothing.

"This is Hammerhead, a B-class criminal who's been involved in multiple violent altercations in the past. He's a man of large stature, standing 6 feet and 6 inches tall and weighing 462 pounds. According to one eyewitness, he fought 20 men in a street brawl and sent them all to the hospital."

"Not terrible for one human," remarked Alucard.

"The Paradisers sent this message to the TV station: "We will continue to riot until food, clothing and shelter are provided free-of-charge to those who do not work."

Saitama was still unimpressed. "This sounds pretty boring." Saitama's voice drowned out the television. "It doesn't sound like we'll have to get involved." Once Saitama finished speaking, their attention went back to the television. "Reports indicate that they all have shaven heads-" Saitama's every muscle tensed, and his eyes widened into saucers. Likewise, the two vampires were taken aback by this, and ever-so-slowly turned their heads to see how Saitama was taking this, and boy-o-boy, he wasn't taking it well: this was very bad news for him.

On the television screen, several images of these Paradisers were posted, and just as the reporter said, each and every one of them had heads devoid of hair. "It is advised that those who encounter any shaven-headed men on the streets should leave the premise immediately and notify the authorities."

Saitama's blood ran cold. "No... NO..."

Seras inched her body toward Saitama, and the corners of Alucard's mouth curved down slightly. "Saitama..."

Saitama's entire body was now trembling with fury, his eyes sharpening into daggers, and the veins throbbing on his head. "Bastards! THOSE THIEVES!" Saitama's teeth were bared, and the two vampires could feel an intense pressure filling the room. "THEY STOLE MY LOOK!" Saitama jumped out of his seat and sprinted to his room. Alucard and Seras followed his lead but at a much slower pace; when they entered Saitama's room, they saw the bald hero frantically removing his pajamas and putting his hero outfit on.

"Saitama, what are you doing?" asked Seras.

"What d'you think I'm doing? You saw their description! I'm gonna go find them!" Saitama was now on the floor, getting his hero trousers on with some difficulty. "I've spent all this time doing my job as a hero, but if these baldies keep going around acting like jackasses, I'm gonna be treated like a villain! Well, I'm not letting that happen!" Saitama clashed his fists together, creating a minor gust of wind that moved the two vampires about an inch back. "I'm gonna go find those losers and kick their asses!"

"I'll accompany you." Alucard's expression hardened, his hands now tightened by determination. "I will not allow your reputation to be besmirched by these pathetic terrorists. Saitama's eyes nominally widened for a moment, but then his lips curved up in a small smile. "Cool."

"I'll come along as well." Seras interjected, not wanting to be left behind with this endeavor. "If I come as well, we'll be able to cover move ground and find them more quickly."

"Great idea," replied Saitama. "I'm doing this for every bald man out there: your reputation will not be ruined!" Saitama threw his fist into the air. "I'm gonna make sure of it!"

* * *

The bald terrorists had finally begun to attract some more attention for their cause with their little stunt, although the attention they'd attracted wasn't exactly what they'd hoped for: in the streets, a large force of police officers in body armor were attempting to subdue the terrorists, but were having very little success. Police officers were being tossed up into the air, throttled back like tiny insects. Curious citizens were watching from several meters away, but once they saw the power of these terrorists, they began to run for their lives. Quite frankly, the police officers were ready to do the same.

At the front of the squadron of officers, their hearts were pounding, and most of them were about to lose control of their kidney function.

"Man they're tough," muttered one of the officers under his breath, "They aren't gonna back down!"

The leader of the Paradisers was feeling better than ever before: with these suits, he truly felt invincible. With a sadistic smile on his face and this new feeling of pride, he and his subordinates made their way through the army of officers.

"It's too dangerous!" After seeing dozens upon dozens of officers being effortlessly manhandled by the Paradisers, they finally realized the futility of their effort and tried to retreat, but not before the Paradisers charged through them, breaking through their protective shields and knocking them unconscious. With the police officers disposed of, the Paradisers marched through the crowd, turning over cars and pushing away anyone foolish enough to stand in their way, although after seeing their abilities, they doubted anyone would be foolish enough to defy them.

"Stop right there you thugs!" The Paradisers rotated their heads back: it turned out that there was someone idiotic enough to challenge them. Racing toward them on his bike, the C-class hero Mumen Rider was determined to stand up to these opponents. When he got within 3 meters of the terrorists, he abruptly pulled the breaks. He then got off of the bicycle and pulled the braking stick out, all while the bald terrorists were patient enough to watch. The hero ran up to the terrorists and helf his hands up, prepared to fight. "The bicycle is for justice! Mumen Rider is here!"

In the crowd, people gasped in awe and relief: many of the citizens were aware of this low-ranking hero due to him constantly being on the streets to help people with whatever they needed, and had gained a favorable reputation in their eyes.

"It's Mumen Rider! He's come to save us!"

"There's nothing to fear with Mumen Rider around!"

Mumen Rider overheard all of this cheering and smiled. He wouldn't let them down.

The Paradisers didn't even drop a beat, arrogantly looking down upon this noble idiot. "A hero, huh?" mocked Hammerhead, "What a joke."

The hero bucked his knees and lunged at the terrorists. "Here I come!" With practically no effort, Hammerhead slugged the hero across the face, drawing up a puddle of blood and taking him down for the count.

The citizens felt their hopes crumble and blow into the wind when they saw Mumen Rider's body fall to the ground. Who the hell were these guys? How could they defeat a C-class hero in a single hit.

"Someone call an ambulance!" screamed one of the spectators.

Hammerhead derisively laughed. "We are the true heroes; our cause will usher in a better future for all of humanity. These "heroes" who dare stand in our way are the true villains. NOW ONWARD, PARADISERS!"

* * *

The news of these dangerous terrorists quickly spread around throughout City F, and standing on the top of his luxurious apartment complex in the center of the city was one of the people who'd found out about it and was unfortunately affected the most by it. Yes indeed, the wealthy businessman Mr. Zeniru, a slightly rotund middle-aged man with tan skin and short, curly blonde hair who was wearing his morning robe, had just been informed by his butler that these terrorists were on their way to his apartment complex, although unlike most other normal people, he didn't take the news too gravely.

His butler, however, took this news very seriously. "Mr. Zeniru," he urged, "You must flee!" The wealthy businessman Zeniru's face scrunched, his nostrils beginning to flare up. "I can't just leave," explained Zeniru, "I have a reputation to uphold. If word got out to the press that I fled, the public would brand me a coward, and I could never live with such a mockery!"

"You don't need to go anywhere." Zeniru's eyes widened when he heard that voice. He rotated his body 180 degrees, and sitting with his back against a pillar and his arms crossed over his chest was a slim young man with long black hair tied up in a topknot. His attire consisted of a tight black bodysuit highlighted by metal plating on his shins, arms, shoulders, chest, and waist, as well as a long purple scarf. But the takeaway feature of this man was his eyes. His eyes were dead-shot, focused, and quite frankly intimidating. It was as if they were daggers ready to strike down anyone they looked at. "Not while I'm around. You're fortunate that these terrorists arrived while I was still under contract, otherwise you'd probably be a dead man." The butler was taken aback by this man's brazen attitude towards this: what was he implying? That he could take care of these fiends all by himself? "You're just one bodyguard," he exclaimed, "How could-"

"Whoa Sonic, that's the spirit!" Unlike his butler, Zeniru was aware of his bodyguard's amazing abilities and previous history of mercenary work, and felt a wave of relief wash over him. But he still couldn't help having some lingering doubt. "But are you sure you'll be able to handle these men all by yourself? These men are-" Sonic's form vanished before he could finish his sentence and reappeared behind the two men before they could even blink. "Of course I can." The men's eyes widened, and gasped as they turned to see Sonic behind them smirking. "If anything, you should be concerned with their lives. If I were you, I'd start coming up with a plan on what to do with all the bodies I'll pile up." The two men couldn't help but be unnerved by his calmness coupled with his smile, and were quite frankly at a loss for words. "The Paradisers... A bunch of upstarts lucky enough to come across some new battle armor. But, they're led by that B-class criminal Hammerhead." Sonic's smile widened.

"He might have some backbone. Perhaps he'll make me break a sweat."

* * *

Upon getting dressed in his hero outfit, Saitama, Alucard and Seras got some directions pulled up on Saitama's phone and made their way to City F. To the exasperation of Saitama, he was forced to tone down his speed to make sure Alucard and Seras didn't lose track of him, although at times, Saitama was awfully close to just jumping on ahead and leaving them behind. After about an hour or two of dashing through forests, sifting through deserts, and gliding over lakes, the border of City F was coming into view about a mile away.

Saitama sighed a breath of relief. "We finally made it!" shouted Saitama through the high-speed winds. The three heroes abruptly stopped their sprint; the chests of Alucard and Seras were heaving, the toll of such a long sprint taking its toll on them, whereas Saitama's breathing was barely above his regular rate. "Can you see any smoke from inside the city?" asked Saitama. The two vampires were slow to respond, and it took several seconds before they could give Saitama a proper response.

Alucard was the first to reply. "I think the best course of action would be to split up." Saitama bobbed his head up and down.

"I like it," said the bald hero.

"I'll fan out to the eastern sector of the city," Alucard pointed to Seras, "Policegirl, you search the western sector of the city, and Saitama can search for them at the center of the city. Does that sound good?"

"Yes master."

"But how'll we know if one of us has found them?" asked Saitama.

"If we find them, we'll immediately do battle, and the others can listen to the sound of the battle or the smoke that will arise."

Saitama gave Alucard a thumbs up. "Cool. Now enough lolly-gag." Saitama's hands clenched into fists, and his expression hardened. "Let's find those posers."

* * *

The Paradisers were continuing their march through the city and were about to enter the central park in City F.

"Boss, you can see Zeniru's house right across the forest." One of the Paradisers pointed his finger up to a tall building. "People call it the Golden Turd." Ironically, resting at the top of the building was an actual turd painted gold, for whatever reason. Hammerhead's face scrunched in anger: what kind of egotistical asshole would have a golden turd situated at the top of their building? To show everyone how much better they were, of course. "You're going down Zeniru!"

The Paradisers paced on a pathway through the forest, with the only man-mad object being a stone statue of a house seated on a pedestal. But something caught Hammerhead's attention: the shadow cast on this stone statue suddenly shifted. Hammerhead immediately stopped in his tracks and held out his arm, causing the rest of the Paradisers to stop as well. "Something's here," he said with a serious tone.

"I've been waiting for you, Hammerhead." Behind the shadow of the stone statue, a dark figure radiating a black aura, revealing a young man dressed in a tight black bodysuit with a black bandana covering his mouth. "Zeniru sent me."

Instead of being intimidated, however, Hammerhead beamed: this was the perfect opportunity to send a message to Zeniru that they meant business, and that meant killing this punk.

The young man walked out of the shadow to face the terrorists. "Let me start out by saying no opponent of mine has ever escaped alive." The Paradisers were slightly daunted by this man's words and stealth, and felt their heart rates increase ever-so-slightly.

The man continued, "I plan to keep it that way. When it comes to my job, I'm a perfectionist. But if you surrender right now, I'll be generous and spare your life." The young man removed his bandana, revealing his mouth. "So what will it be?"

Hammerhead didn't hesitate: this arrogant prick had just signed his own death warrant! Hammerhead raised his hand and waved it at his opponent. "GO!" The Paradisers obeyed their leader and sprinted forward, although with their heavy battle suits, it was more like light jogging.

The one opportunity they had was just wasted. Sonic almost pitied their foolishness. Oh well. He'd take pity on them and end their lives quickly. Sonic's grin widened as he leaned forward, and what happened next was imperceptible to the human eye: in an instant, Sonic unsheathed his katana and cleaved the head of one of the Paradisers clean off his body. His comrades didn't even have time to realize he'd been killed, for their heads were quickly cleaved off as well. In mere seconds, Sonic managed to behead two dozen Paradisers. The ninja performed several midair twirls, then ran vertically on a rock as he targeted the next Paradiser. The terrorist threw a punch at the ninja, but Sonic cut his head into two pieces.

Standing behind his army, the B-class criminal was watching as his followers were all losing their heads. Hammerhead's face was twisted in confusion. "What is this?" he thought, finding it nearly impossible to believe this ninja could be this fast, "What's going on?" One of the final Paradisers standing beside Hammerhead was just as befuddled as he was. "Why is every-" The words couldn't come out of his mouth in time before Sonic too ended his life.

Now that the B-class criminal realized the gravity of the situation he was in, his confident smirk had vanished, replaced with quivering lips and bulging veins in his eyes Overcome with shock and fear, he put his elbows up to defend from the ninja's blade. The ninja's blade cut through the thick armor which thankfully protected Hammerhead's neck. The criminal looked at the cut, and fury began to bubble up inside of him.

"BASTARD!" Hammerhead shouted out defiantly, raising his arms up and violently slamming down on the ground. The force of the blow was immense, creating large dust clouds that were several meters high. The shockwaves fractured the ground into several pieces, destroying all of the nearby rock formations and forcing Sonic to jump up into the trees. However, the speedy ninja wasn't impressed. "What's all this?" mocked Sonic, "Trying to intimidate me? You can't see me, can you?" Hammerhead's eyes rapidly searched the trees to find him, and found him hanging upside down from a tree.

"There you are!" Hammerhead picked up an adjacent boulder and threw it at Sonic, but the ninja easily dodged the rock. The boulder continued speeding up into the air, until it collided with the golden turd atop Zeniru's luxury apartment complex.

* * *

In the center of City F, the bald hero was attempting to search for the bald thugs who'd been terrorizing around here, but unfortunately, nothing turned up. And to make matters worse, people were giving him uneasy stares, with a few even letting out yelps of terror. In fact, as he was walking through the streets, one man went so far as to point his finger and fearfully shout, "LOOK OUT! IT'S A TERRORIST!"

Saitama's eyebrows furrowed, and he angrily yelled back, "NO I'M NOT! COOL IT!" Then, out of nowhere, Saitama picked up on a loud crash behind him. He turned around, and saw that the golden turd statue he'd seen earlier was destroyed. It must've been those Paradisers... "Hold on a sec..." Saitama looked at the damage for a moment, and quickly realized that the smoke from the impact was moving to the left, which meant that whoever threw the object at the golden turd must've thrown it from the right. "Ah-ha!" Saitama immediately sprinted to the right to investigate further.

Similarly, in the right and left sectors of the city, the two vampires found no luck in their search for the terrorists, when the destruction of the golden turd statue caught their attention, and just like Saitama, they managed to make a rough estimate of where the Paradisers could be and made their way to put an end to their villainous activities.

* * *

Back in the battle between Hammerhead and Sonic, the ninja landed back on level ground, but he looked up and was promptly greeted with another large boulder. Sonic performed a backflip and dodged the boulder. "So he's decided to fight instead of run," said Sonic to himself. Several boulders proceeded to rain from the sky and attempted to crush Sonic into a bloody pulp, although the ninja's amazing speed and reflexes allowed him to narrowly dodge all of these boulders. Sonic performed several backflips and managed to continuously avoid the boulders, despite a couple dozen being thrown in such a short amount of time. As he continued his evasive maneuvers, the thrill of the battle and his confidence stored in his heart burst, and his face darkened into a twisted, sadistic smile. "Oops!" His hand clamped itself over his mouth, for he couldn't afford to let his emotions get the better of him while he was on-duty. "There goes my bad habit again!" Eventually, the speedy assassin was surrounded on all sides by these large boulders, creating a narrow path with the only exit being blocked by Hammerhead. The Paradiser felt he was in control again, and his arrogant smile returned. Standing several meters away from Sonic, he shouted, "You're just a dog hired by that filth Zeniru! Dogs like you are the reason why our society is so divided! A lowly hitman like you could never defeat a man like me who's fighting for a noble cause!"

While Hammerhead mocked Sonic, the ninja glanced around and noticed the arrangement of the boulders. "Yes, I see what he's up to." He scoffed. "What an idiot. He could have at least tried to arrange the boulders in a less obvious way!"

Hammerhead clenched another boulder and effortlessly lifted it over his head. "And there's plenty more boulders where those came for!" yelled Hammerhead, "If you don't stop me, they'll keep on coming, and eventually, you'll slip up and be crushed!"

"So you think that you'll be able to predict my speed if you know from what direction I'm coming from," said Sonic, his tone derisive and his eyes bored, "How pathetic, but I'll play along. In fact-" Sonic bent his knees down and took a running stance, "I'll take you-" Sonic planted his foot down, and propelled himself forward at an amazing pace, "HEAD-ON!" The ninja's speed was phenomenal; several gusts of wind ruffled the trees and caused several leaves to fall off their branches. Likewise, beads of sweat were running down Hammerhead's face, this speed far surpassing anything he'd ever encountered. "He's too fast," thought Hammerhead, his mind beginning to panic, "I can't see him! But that doesn't matter..." The criminal dropped the boulder and hoisted from the ground a tree that'd fallen from Hammerhead's downward blow. Sonic's expression hardened. "So that was his plan all along..."

"Gotcha!" With a forceful swing, Hammerhead slammed the tree down the narrow pathway, crushing anything in it. The criminal manically laughed, the feeling of victory setting his soul on fire. "HAHA! YOU SEE?! YOU CAN REFLECT ON YOUR STUPIDITY TO FIGHT ME WHILE YOU BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY TO HELL!"

Suddenly, a sharp object jagged itself into the back of the criminal's head, knocking him down to the ground and ending the battle. Standing behind Hammerhead was Sonic, completely uninjured and his hand extended outward. With his work completed, he proceeded to call Zeniru to inform him of the news.

"It's over. Unfortunately, I couldn't go easy on them." He paused for a moment to let Zeniru talk. "Yes, Hammerhead's body is here. I'll head back no-" Sonic's eyes widened: Hammerhead's body was gone. But how did...

* * *

In a surprising turn of events, the B-class criminal was sprinting through the forest, attempting to get as much distance between that prick as possible. "That was close," said Hammerhead, "Thank god that ninja freak hit me in the head." The throwing knife was still jabbed into the back of the criminal's head. "My skull's always been several times thicker than the average person's, so I'll be alright." His teeth were tightly clenched, and his eyeballs looked like they were about to pop. For a noble warrior to retreat from such a dishonorable snake was so humiliating!

"Goddammit! I don't know who that prick was, but one day I'm gonna-" Hammerhead's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a bald man with a white cape wandering aimlessly through the woods, rotating his head around as if he were looking for something. That man was none other than Saitama. "Now what?"

Saitama continued to wander through the woods, trying to see if there was any sign of those baldies. His ears picked up on something approaching from his left. He turned his head, and to his surprise, towering above him was the leader of the very group he'd been searching for.

"Oh, there you are."

* * *

The generators were humming. Deep within the laboratory of Dr. Kuseno, the computers were performing diagnostics, Genos's puffed-up hair had been removed and placed on a mannequin head, and several mechanical arms were hanging from the ceiling, in the process of repairing the teenage cyborg Genos. Standing beside him was the faithful Dr. Kuseno typing in commands on his computers all-the-while listening to him explain yesterday's events.

"Just as with the mosquito monster, I grossly underestimated my opponent's strength, which Kabuto used to his advantage and defeated me. If it hadn't been for master Saitama, I would have most definitely perished."

"I see... Well either way, I'm glad you're alri-"

Genos cut off the doctor to further stress the point he'd been trying to make. "Doctor, he saved me from death on three separate occasions." Genos moved his eyes to look at Dr. Kuseno. "You were the one responsible for restoring my life. Later, that same life was saved by Master Saitama three times."

Dr. Kuseno's lips curved up ever-so-slightly. "I understand the point you're trying to make: you're trying to make me comprehend just how overwhelmingly powerful he is."

"Yes sir!"

Dr. Kuseno stopped typing on his computer and turned around to meet the cyborg's gaze. "Listen Genos, it isn't ready yet, but I'm developing a new set of augmentations. When I replace your existing parts, you may be able to very well surpass your master." Genos gasped: could these augmentations really increase his power to such a high level?

The good doctor continued. "He must possess an enormous amount of strength for you to go on and on about him to such a degree."

Genos nodded his head. "Yes." Now that he had the time, Genos decided to bring up another topic that'd been bothering him ever since he'd met Saitama. "Dr. Kuseno, despite my master's unbelievable power, I believe he is being manipulated."

Dr. Kuseno's eyebrows raised up. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"The very same monsters which he and I fought two days ago have returned. Do you remember the nightmarish abilities I described to you before?"

"They would be hard to forget." replied Dr. Kuseno.

"Indeed. And now, these two monsters have somehow developed a sort of personal connection with Master Saitama! They went so far as to even invite him to live with them, and he accepted! I cannot possibly accept their words for truth!" The cyborg's hands formed into fist, and his body began trembling with rage. "No matter how tragic their "stories" might appear to be!"

"Now calm down, Genos. You can't move during the repairs, or else the process will take much longer." Genos let out a sigh and toned down his anger. Dr. Kuseno was correct: he needed to get out of here as soon as possible to make sure those two vampires hadn't done anything to Master Saitama.

Dr. Kuseno decided to share his view on the issue. "Now I can certainly see your point. Given that they are vampires and they engaged in a large-scale fight with your master, it wouldn't be a wise choice for you or your master to be unguarded near their presence. At the same time, from what you've told me of your master so far, I believe he had a reason to spare their lives when he did. He must have seen some human attributes that made them different from other monsters. Do not be so rash as to look at them only for their status as monsters."

Genos let out a huff. "Master Saitama had me engage in conversation with them while he was gone. The female vampire, whose name is Seras Victoria, revealed that she was the same age as me and that she'd too been a human before, but was forced to become a vampire."

"Interesting..." Dr. Kuseno held his chin in his hand. "It appears you two have some close things in common."

Genos shook his head. "We're nothing alike!"

"Now now Genos, at least give them a chance. If you do, you'll find that there's more to them than meets the eye."

* * *

The birds were silent, and the wind died down in anticipation of the confrontation between Saitama and Hammerhead. Hammerhead looked down upon Saitama with a serious gaze yet a mild curiosity growing in his mind. His young age and shaven head definitely served as signs that he showed interest in his cause. Although the only way to know for certain was to ask.

"So what's your deal? You wanna sign up with the Paradisers?"

"Not at all," replied Saitama, "Actually, I'm just a guy who's a hero for fun- I mean a real professional hero. For personal reasons, I came here to smash all your heads in." Saitama leaned out and looked behind Hammerhead to see if any more Paradisers were trailing behind him. "So where're all your followers?"

Hammerhead wouldn't let another wannabe hero get in his way. This bald punk just bought himself a one-way ticket to hell. "THEN DIE!" Hammerhead balled his hand into a fist and punched the hero right in the face. The force of the punch was so strong, clouds of dust spewed up for about half-a-mile.

As the dust cleared, Hammerhead scoped the area to make sure nobody had seen what he just did. "Alright enough. I better get outta here quick." Hammerhead looked down, expecting to see a bloody corpse, but instead, the bald hero was standing in the exact same position as before with not so much as a scratch on him. Hammerhead's eyes widened, and he staggered backwards. "How? How is he still standing?" thought Hammerhead, "I thought I punched him in the face!"

Saitama's eyebrows raised up in disappointment. "What a letdown," he said, "I'd been pretty excited to see the power of the battle suits I'd hear about, but the design's really lame, and all they do is give you superhuman strength."

Saitama's last comment caused a fuse to light up in Hammerhead's brain. He glared daggers at Saitama, with his teeth bared and his demeanor ferocious. "You have no idea how hard it was to get ahold of these things! How could an insignificant gnat like you know their true value?!" Suddenly, the flame symbols on Hammerhead's suit started to glow. "Today is your lucky day!" All around the criminal's body, his muscles began to engorge, adding a few inches in height and making his appearance even more menacing. Once the power of the suit reached all of his muscles, small orange bolts of lightning began to shoot out of the armor, and the flame symbols began to glow even brighter, as if those flame symbols could very well be flames.

"SPIN ATTACK!" Hammerhead snarled, and proceeded to spin his arms around at amazing speeds while walking towards Saitama. When the bald hero saw what Hammerhead was doing, a light bulb clicked in his brain. He remembered that move! "Whoa! I used to do that move all the time when I was a kid."

Saitama held his hands out and effortlessly intercepted both of Hammerhead's arms, leaving the criminal stupefied. "What? NO! IMPOSSIBLE!" Saitama's eyes softened as he pondered the similarities between this man and himself. "Hammerhead, huh? He's a lot like me," thought Saitama.

Hammerhead couldn't understand how this was happening. "No way. What the hell are you?" The B-class criminal felt Saitama's elbow ramming into his armor. The force of this strike was enough to crack the battle armor, and in a bright orange flash, the armor crumbled into dozens of little pieces, leaving Hammerhead's body completely exposed. The criminal, still in shock, looked down to see if he was as naked as a wee baby, and unfortunately he was. Hammerhead shrieked like a frightened schoolgirl, and jumped back from Saitama, whose eyes were darkened and his hand still formed into a fist. "Wait a minute! Hold on!" With the destruction of his body armor came the destruction of his arrogance, revealing his more cowardly nature. "I just wanted to get out of working, that's all!" Hammerhead innocently smile while his entire body trembled and he was about to lose control of his urinary function. He closed his eyes to wait for the final blow, but it didn't come.

"Don't be bad anymore, ok?" said Saitama.

Hammerhead gave Saitama a confused look. "Wait, so you're not gonna kill me?"

With a blank expression, Saitama monotonously said, "Get lost, ok?"

"YOU GOT IT!" Not needing to be told twice, Hammerhead spun around and sprinted into the woods as fast as he could, letting out yelps of joy knowing that his life was spared. Saitama kept his eyes on Hammerhead for a few moments, still pondering the uncanny similarities between himself and Hammerhead.

"Well I guess that's done then."

"Saitama!"

"Hey Saitama!"

Coming from opposite directions, the two vampires had tracked the sight of the large smoke clouds and the sounds of loud strikes, and to their surprise, they saw Saitama had beaten both of them to the punch. Coming from the right was Alucard, and coming from the left was Seras, although for some reason, Seras seemed rather unnerved. Saitama gave short waves to both vampires. "What's up guys?"

"That looked like quite the battle from the distance," remarked Alucard, "You even managed to destroy the statue of the uhh... golden feces." Alucard noticed his apprentice's nervous and disturbed expression, with Saitama noticing this as well. "What's wrong?" said Saitama.

Seras stared at the ground for a second, then shakily met the eyes of Saitama and Alucard. "When I was walking through the forest, I noticed the entire army of Paradisers had been beheaded." The eyes of both males widened. "Was that you Saitama?" asked Seras hesitantly. "Please tell me it wasn't."

"What? No, that wasn't me," replied Saitama, "I only fought the leader of the Paradisers just now. I destroyed his battle suit and let him go, but I didn't see any of his followers."

"But then who could've disposed of them?" wondered Alucard.

"That would be me."

All three heroes heard this new voice chiming in. They turned around, and standing a few feet away from them with his arms crossed and his lips formed into a smirk, the deadly ninja Sonic had just arrived, for it appeared he still had unfinished business to attend to.

* * *

 _The deadly ninja Speed-o-Sound Sonic has just arrived to the party! What's gonna happen? What kind of interactions is Sonic gonna have with Alucard and Seras? Is it gonna be pretty? Is it gonna get ugly? You'll just have to wait and see in Chapter 13 of Monstrum Hominis!_


	13. How To Be An S-class Hero

_Hey guys, Chapter 13 is finally ready! I'm sorry that it took so long, I don't know how it happened. I think part of it was creating new source material. **Also, I edited parts of Chapter 6 and Chapter 11 to add more moments for The Captain, so make sure to look at that!**_ Now, _please read and enjoy!_

* * *

Speed-o-Sound Sonic's scarf fluttered in the wind. The assassin's arms were crossed, keenly observing the three foes before him. While the two in red clothing were certainly peculiar, the first thing that drew his attention was the man with the bald head.

"So, do you know where Hammerhead scurried of to?" asked Sonic.

"Oh, I just ran into him a second ago," replied Saitama, "If you wanna know where he is, he went running off like a little girl. You should be able to find him pretty easily, he's butt-naked."

In a short burst, Speed-o-Sound Sonic took out a throwing dagger and aimed it at Saitama's forehead, but somehow, Saitama managed to catch it. The two vampires widened their eyes; that was faster than they'd anticipated.

"What's this thing?" said Saitama. The deadly assassin followed up his attack by unsheathing his sword and aiming at the same place as before. But before the sword could pierce his forehead, Saitama caught the tip of his sword. The assassin's eyes couldn't believe this. How did this man manage to react to both of his attacks?

"So you're our opponent then?" said Alucard. The vampire raised his foot and attacked Sonic with a right side kick, yet Sonic managed to dodge the attack, albeit with difficulty. However, he wasn't able to react in time to Seras ramming her fist in his stomach, and the assassin was sent back a few meters.

"Whoa whoa!" Saitama didn't like where this was heading, and he raised his hands towards both the vampires. If this guy got injured while Saitama was around, he'd probably be pinned as a rogue Paradiser, and his hero reputation would be ruined before it was even built up. No way he'd let that happen! "Let's not get crazy here!" Saitama directed his attention to Sonic. "Now look guy, I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding."

Sonic's eyebrow raised up. "Oh? How so?"

"I'm guessing you think I'm one of the Paradisers, but I'm not one of them."

Sonic wasn't falling for it. "Oh? Well unfortunately for you, I don't believe you. And what's with your two buddies? Are they new recruits you came across?" Sonic held up his sword and smirked at the two vampires. "You know, I could make you full-fledged Paradisers and cut your hair off right now."

Alucard smirked in return: this one certainly talked big, and given that he was able to dodge his attack, he might be able to walk big as well. "And how may I ask is this any of your business in the first place?" asked Alucard.

"I was hired by a wealthy businessman to silence all Paradisers." The ninja pointed his finger at the C-class hero. "And that man is on my hit list."

Saitama's face scrunched. This wasn't working! "No, no! Come on man, just stop and really look at me for a second."

"I don't need to. With that bald head, it's undeniable you're with the terrorist organization."

"So?" This time, it was Seras who chimed in and attempted to be the voice of reason. "There are plenty of bald men in the world! It's a common style! He's just a hero who wanted to stop the Paradisers!"

Saitama waved his hands to Seras and shouted, "EXACTLY!" Saitama then pointed his finger at his chest and said, "Like she said, I'm a hero, I'm not a terrorist!"

Sonic didn't bat an eye. "Never heard of you." For a moment, the scene was silent, and Saitama felt his spirit sink. It appears he had to be painfully reminded that his victories against monsters and all of the heroic things he'd done were apparently ignored, as if he was invisible to the world. Saitama's sad gaze went to the ground. "I guess this proves it..." muttered Saitama, "Nobody knows who I am."

Both the vampires saw the hero's saddened state and gave small frowns. On the other hand, the deadly assassin's eyes darkened, for to him, this news was irrelevant to him. "Well, who you are doesn't mean anything to mean." Sonic took his katana and put it back in its sheath. He wanted to do what he was about to do with his bare hands, and the thought of it made him smile deviously. "What really matters to me is the fact that you were able to read two of my moves, and your two associates were fast enough to give me some trouble." Sonic continued by regaling stories of his past.

"I was born in a ninja village, where I rigorously trained since I was a child to hone and perfect my ninja techniques. Yet you managed to see through my techniques in an instant. That I cannot allow to pass."

"Hold on." It was Alucard who interrupted, for he found what Sonic had just said to be very perplexing. It piqued his interest. "Are you saying that you managed to become this powerful only through training?"

Sonic looked back at Alucard and gave him a confused look. "Yes, that's correct."

Alucard continued. "And are there more warriors like you from your village? More who possess your advanced ninja skills?"

Sonic didn't understand this line of questioning. Why was this man so interested in the history of his village? "My village had a total of 44 graduating classes, each of which possess the same training and ninja skills, although my abilities far surpass a great deal of these graduates."

The King of Vampires let out a soft chuckle of amazement. "Imagine that..."

Sonic still didn't understand what this man was thinking, but he quickly refocused to the main issue at hand. "Anyway..." Sonic vanished, then reappeared right behind Saitama for a blinding moment. "My pride will not allow this to stand." Sonic moved a few meters behind Saitama, and then gave glances at the two vampires. "And once I've defeated him, I'm coming after you two next." The ninja assassin allowed his instincts to kick in, and jumped up into the air. The speed and force of this single jump was strong enough to create a large circular shockwave similar to that of a high-speed jet. Saitama heard this loud boom and looked behind him, only to see that he'd disappeared. Sonic proceeded to jump all across the terrain, landing on the ground and lunging for the sturdy-looking tree branches, and at the speed he was traveling, his form looked like a blur to the average human eye. Even the two vampires were amazed the speed at which he was traveling, especially Alucard. This ninja was even faster than Anderson prior to his monsterfication.

Sonic took a small glance at the shocked expressions on the faces of the vampires, and his smile widened. "So you like my speed that breaks the sound barrier? Of the shockwaves that shake the ground? Can your eyes even keep track of my movements?" Sonic continued his rapid movements, appearing like a small black blur teleporting to any regular human. "How can you possibly keep up with me?" The ninja assassin jumped about and sprinted around Saitama for a few more seconds. Finally, when Sonic saw his opportunity to strike atop a tree branch, he lunged for his opponent. This bald man would't even have the time to widen his eyes before his head was cleaved from his body. The ninja was quickly proven wrong: Saitama lazily looked up to Sonic and nonchalantly asked, "Are you done yet?"

His mouth gaped open, and his eyes bulged. What was this? Who was this man? Where the hell did he come from? "Bastard!" said Sonic with a whisper. The assassin used the momentum he'd already built up from his jump by spinning his body forward repeatedly and holding his right leg out. Alucard saw Sonic prepare for an attack, and instinctively reacted by lunging at Sonic.

"Wind Blade Kick!" Speed-O-Sound Sonic desperately hoped his attack would land, yet somehow, this infuriating man managed to easily shifted his body backwards to avoid the kick. Sonic's heart drummed and his breath shook. Meanwhile, Saitama held his fist out as a way to counterattack while Sonic continued falling, but unfortunately for the assassin, Saitama's fist was directly in the path of Sonic's beanbags. The bald hero was too late to realize this, and could do nothing as his fist destroyed a poor man's cahones. Alas, fate had other plans, for just before Saitama's knuckles could graze Sonic's family jewels, Alucard landed a firm right side kick on Sonic's stomach just as he attempted to do before. The force of the blow pushed the assassin out of the way of Saitama's fist, and his body crashed through three trees until he was stopped by a large boulder in his path. Sonic winced in pain, although he knew what just happened was much more preferable than the alternative punishment his snow balls would've had to endure.

Saitama let out a soft sigh of relief. "Thanks man," said Saitama, putting his hand on his shoulder. "I know I could've dealt against the guy, but you've spared me the guilt of rupturing a man's balls." Alucard gave Saitama a half-shrug. "Well, he probably deserved that kind of punishment."

Saitama gave Alucard a glare and shook his head. "No man deserves to have his balls taken away from him." Sonic was momentarily stunned, and he staggered for several seconds before regaining proper footing. Once he snapped out of it, his anger was immediately directed toward the man who interrupted his battle. Who the hell did he think he was, storming in like that and kicking him in the stomach? Although Sonic had to admit, that blow was rather powerful; it'd been able to deal some significant damage to him. the ninja winced, his hand trailing over the point of contact in a circular motion. Things were not looking good for him. As much as he hated to admit it, Sonic couldn't defeat this bald man, especially with his two associates serving as backup.

Alucard saw his face feign doubt and caution, and he knew this man had finally grasped the situation he was in. "So I take it you've had enough?" mocked Alucard.

Sonic didn't respond, only looking at Saitama with a steely gaze. "Now you three listen carefully. Ever since I graduated from my village, I've worked jobs ranging from assassin to bodyguard. I'm the deadly ninja Speed-o-Sound Sonic!" The ninja's hands balled into fists. "However, now that I know such formidable opponents exist, I will put my work on hold to focus on training until the day I reign supreme over all of you!" He extended his hand and pointed at all three of his opponents. "Now I demand you tell me your names!"

Saitama raised his hand up first. "The name's Saitama."

"My name is Alucard."

"And I'm Seras. Seras Victoria"

"Saitama, Alucard, Seras Victoria..." Sonic took a mental note of these names. Sonic's finger was then pointed at Saitama, and he aggressively assured, "I, Speed-O-Sound Sonic, will not rest until I've brought you to your knees!" He then directed his attention to the two vampires. "And I won't forget the damage you've dealt to me either! Once I've dealt with him, I will be coming for you two next! That I promise!"

Now, even though his life had just been threatened, Saitama couldn't help but admire this young man's tenacity and will to defeat him. With that kind of determination, Saitama knew that he'd make it far. So, Saitama gave Sonic a sly smile and held his fist out. "Go train hard!"

"Likewise," added Alucard, who replicated Saitama's sly smile and admiration for this ninja's determination and overall power.

With nothing left to say, Speed-o-Sound Sonic disappeared into the woods.

"Well, that could've ended better," muttered Saitama.

"Yes it could've," added Seras. She walked up and nudged herself in between Saitama and Alucard. "But still, I can't believe how fast he was! Don't you agree master!"

"No doubt, and he said he became that powerful only through training! The same method you told us you underwent, Saitama!" Alucard's chin rested between his palm and index finger. "Just how many more humans like that are out there?" pondered the Vampire King, "Could there be more heroes whose power exceeds mine and that of regular monsters?"

"Eh, who knows?" said Saitama, who wasn't nearly as interested in this as Alucard was. That kind of stuff didn't matter to him anyway. "Now that this is all taken care of, what say we head back home and relax a little bit?"

"Well, before we do that, could we go and purchase some blue eye contacts? said Alucard. "We need them in order to more properly conceal our identities as vampires. Is that alright with you?" Saitama shrugged his shoulders. "Sounds good. I think you can buy them at a local Walmart. I saw one about two or three blocks south from here."

Seras extended her palm out in a joking manner. "Well then lead the way." Saitama flashed her a small smile. "With pleasure." Saitama led the path, with the other two vampires following, and with that, the action-portion of the day was finally over.

Despite the high-end action that'd just followed, the three heroes felt relatively calm and took in the serenity of nature around them. Well, two of them were relatively calm. The only female of the group was still somewhat unnerved by all of the headless bodies she'd seen before, and now that they had some quiet time, this uneasy feeling had the time to fester. "I can't believe that Sonic character beheaded every single one of those Paradisers. I know they weren't saints, but it was just such a grisly sight..."

Neither Saitama nor Alucard were as sympathetic for the Paradisers. "I can see what you mean," responded Saitama, "but those guys still chose to be terrorists who use fear to get what they want. Whatever happened to them was the price they paid for what they chose to be. I personally wouldn't have killed them, but there's nothing we can do about it now." Seras looked at him and let out a soft sigh. "I guess you're right."

"Hopefully," Saitama continued, "That Hammerhead guy won't cause trouble anymore. I wonder if he's gonna be alright, running around naked like that."

* * *

While the trio of heroes had started their morning on an action-packed note, on the other side of the planet, the duo of newly-recruited S-class heroes weren't beginning their day with such an intense battle. Instead, they were merely relaxing, taking a well-deserved rest after all of the excitement they'd been through the past two days. Last night's dinner with Sweet Mask had certainly been interesting: Sweet Mask spent a great deal of time talking about the sub-par behaviors and abilities of several A-class heroes, as well as the rise of mysterious beings invading cities. They were also introduced to the concepts of "mysterious beings". That was the official term the Hero Association used to classify monsters because of the great variety of monsters and the different characteristics they'd have. Sweet Mask also brushed them up on the types of disaster levels used to classify the power of these mysterious beings. From weakest to strongest, it went: Wolf, a threat that might endanger the lives of civilians; Tiger, a threat that endangers the lives of several citizens; Demon, a threat that endangers the security of an entire city; Dragon, a threat that endangers multiple cities, and God, a threat endangering the survival of all of humanity. According to Sweet Mask, there had only ever been one Dragon-level mysterious being in recent years, and no God-level mysterious beings had appeared yet.

It had been a very informative and overall enjoyable night out. Even Hans managed to loosen up after a while, although he found Sweet Mask's excessive focus on looks to be a bit off-putting. Nonetheless, he still felt there was some sort of genuine hero inside of him, even if it was hidden under the multiple layers of his narcissism. Walter seemed to understand this part of Sweet Mask, although being somewhat of an arrogant egotist himself, he didn't see as much of a trouble with it. Either way, this man had been the one who made their placement as S-class heroes possible, so they had to show some gratitude.

The two S-class heroes, returned to their apartment, were resting in their rooms while the rest of the city gradually began to start their daily routines. In the master bedroom lied Walter C. Dornez, who'd chosen to remain comfortable in his clothing and without the thick blanket around him to protect him with its layer of warmth. Soon, the dawn of day began to rise over A-City, the sun's luminescence shining over the thousands of windows of the city like a watchful protector. Eventually, the light began to filer through the thin cracks of the blinds, slowly illuminating the room. The vampire butler soon began to feel light rays prickling his skin, and he was woken from his slumber. Walter rubbed his eyes and looked at the nearby clock to see how much he'd slept. "10:30. I'm sure Hans is already up." Preparing to join his acquaintance with whatever he was doing, Walter pushed himself out of bed and paced out of the room, the sound of his boots echoing through the silent room. But he soon discovered that Hans wasn't in the living room. He opened the door to The Captain's room, but no luck either. Walter's annoyance flared. "Where could he've gone off to?" He repeatedly rotated his head, combing through all the areas in the living room, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw The Captain's trench coat fluttering in the wind outside on the balcony. Walter opened the sliding door and stared at The Captain, who was gazing aimlessly at the rising sun. His body was leaning forward, and his elbows were resting on his knees.

"Enjoying the morning sun, are you?" said Walter. The Captain's head didn't move an inch. Walter looked at A-City and the mid-morning buzzing of the city's civilians. "I suppose I could enjoy it with you. After all, no other activities are pending for me at the moment." Not waiting to hear for his approval, Walter pulled out a chair beside Hans and took a seat. He crossed his foot onto his thigh and leaned back. Although the mid-morning sun stung, the view of the city was well worth the annoyance. The two monsters stayed like this, allowing the sensations of the morning to drown out everything else around them.

The Captain had been sitting there for some hours now, contemplating everything that'd happened these past two days. For Hans, it had been so long since he'd gotten the opportunity to do something as simple as watch the sunrise. Such a simple freedom, taken away from him by Millennium. At first, he didn't know what to do with that freedom. He'd thought about it while they'd been traveling to City A; there weren't too many skills that fitted into the working expertise. His entire life, the only thing he was ever good at was fighting. Fight for those he cared about. Unfortunately, during his time with Millennium, he was forced to fight for the German army, killing British and American soldiers who had families to go home to. He fought a war that was never his to fight. Not only that, but once the war was over, Millennium went into hiding, and during that time, Hans was forced to take even more lives. Yet now, he had the chance to redeem; now, he'd chosen to become a hero. A hero. To Hans, he wasn't even sure what a hero was, what a true hero did. After spending so many years being a part of the worst of humanity, the only role he'd ever played was the villain. So how could he play the hero?

About 10 minutes passed, until Walter decided to break the moment and get themselves back into reality. "Well, the red curtains have opened, and today's act has begun," remarked Walter, the rising of the sun and the setting of the city reminding him of a theater. "What we, the actors, plan to do on today's stage is up to us, wouldn't you say?" The Captain finally acknowledged Walter by turning his head and giving Walter a small nod. "And wouldn't you prefer to do something worthy of applause instead of loafing around like ordinary laborers?"

"I suppose," said Hans, his voice barely above a whisper. Walter continued. "Then let's say you and I go hunt for powerful mysterious beings. We'll be the leads of today's performance. Does that sound agreeable to you?" The Captain quickly nodded his head, and Walter clapped his hands. "That is the answer I was waiting to hear." Walter clapped his hands to his thighs and pushed himself out of his chair. "But before we do anything, I believe a shower would fully wake me up. I'd recommend getting something small to eat. I think there might be some food in the kitchen cabinets." Walter opened the sliding door and once again left Hans to himself. The werewolf pushed himself up and perched himself on the ledge to get one final look at the scenery.

"Today, I will begin my path as a hero."

* * *

The beginning of Hans' journey wasn't as heroic as he thought it'd be. For starters, it helped to know where to find monsters in order to actually perform his deeds as a hero, and for the two heroes, there were no monsters attacking A-city at the moment. Well, there weren't any monsters that they saw. At the moment, they were simply wandering the streets, hoping to bump into a high-action fight scene. Alas, no such luck. Walter in particular was becoming very perturbed by all the excessive searching and boredom. He wasn't used to such tranquility, especially these past few weeks. Hans, on the other hand, was more than familiar with being silent and walking around. It's what he'd done for about 50 years.

"How dull this morning has been," complained Walter, "Are we supposed to merely wander the streets for the rest of the day, hoping to search for mysterious beings?" Hans didn't give him a reply and glanced around at the citizens, pacing into stores and conversing idly. Walter continued, "If not mysterious beings, at least let there be a bank robbery, a fire, any other natural disaster, something!"

"Polo, come on down!" Hans picked up on the sounds of distress with his heightened hearing. At the edge of the street, there was a young girl, who couldn't have been more than 5 years old, with long blonde hair, a pink skirt and white shirt, reaching her hands up to the top of a tree. Hans squinted to see what exactly it was that the girl was reaching for, and his fingers twitched: it was a black cat clinging onto a tree. "What are you looking at?" said Walter. He took a glance at the very minute problem at the end of the street, and didn't even bat an eye. "That's nothing. Come on, let's see if we can go to the Hero Association headquarters and ask where any mysterious beings have popped up." Walter continued walking, expecting to hear the clopping of boots joining behind him, but all he heard was the sound of his own shoes. Once Walter got an idea of what Hans was about to do, he slapped his hand on his forehead. "No, no..." Walter turned around, and saw Hans was still staring at the little girl. "You can't be serious!" said Walter.

Seeing Hans not move a muscle, Walter stormed over to him and stared in straight in the eyes. "You're actually considering helping her? A cat stuck in the tree is one of the most common, insignificant problems I can think of. This kind of problem is something that..." Walter waved his hand in the air, "Something not even police would consider! We're S-class heroes! Such a thing is so beneath us!"

* * *

 _Tall trees rose out of the earth the brush the sky. Hundreds of these trees touched the night sky, cramped together, obscuring the view of the rabbits, squirrels, and other creatures of the wilderness scurrying across the ground. But those weren't the only creatures hidden within the labyrinth of the wilderness. Several miles within the cluster of trees and the mountain ranges, there existed a village. A village of werewolves._

 _To some, the idea of there being a village of werewolves was ridiculous. To them, werewolves were solitary creatures who lived in the underbellies of human society and hunted in the night. However, these werewolves had decided to separate themselves from human society. They knew that the prejudices and fears humans had against werewolves was too great, and once they were found, their friends and their families would be targeted and killed. In fact, that very thing happened, and they were forced into hiding, their faces and their former lives being forever destroyed by human prejudice and hatred._

 _The village was comprised of about 30-40 werewolves, led by the alpha of their "pack", or their chief. For decades, they had lived in solitude after being forced out of human society, and for decades, they had lived in peace and tranquility. Inside the village, there were several log cabins lined up, all leading down to the largest wooden house and home of the leader of their village. On the streets, the children ran along the dirt road. The moon's light shined down on the werewolf pups, gently touching their skin and invigorating them with lively energy. One of these pups was none other than Hans Gunsche, and playing along with him were his brother, Wilhelm, and Wilhelm's two friends, Jürgen and Klaus. At the moment, they were playing a game of catch, although this game of catch was far more intense. Instead of simply throwing the ball to one another, they would throw the ball very fast and very high, and they would use their heightened abilities to jump up and intercept the ball. It was actually quite fun. But unfortunately for Hans, the three of them weren't particularly interested in including him._

 _"Brother!" whined Hans, "How come you won't toss me the ball?" Wilhelm heard the voice of his little brother and felt a surge of annoyance. The brother was a rather tall werewolf, with silver hair and red eyes like Hans, although unlike Hans, Wilhelm was a bit bulkier than his younger brother._

 _"Hans, I'm sorry," replied Wilhelm, "But the speed and height we're throwing is just too much for you. Your senses haven't sharpened enough."_

 _"But Wilhelm!"_

 _"Ah, come on, Wilhelm!" Jürgen was listening to this and couldn't help but feel pity for the little guy. "The runt's gotta have something to do out here! No use sending him back inside on a night like this!" Hans turned to Wilhelm and felt his heart jump. "Thank you, Jürgen." Wilhelm looked at Jürgen, then back at his little brother, and seeing how persistent Hans was at being included, finally sighed. "Alright, alright... I'll try to slow it down, but just try to focus on the ball, alright? Don't focus on me!"_

 _Hans bent his knees down and tightened his hands into fists, with a smile now plastered on his face. "I've got it! But don't hold back! I can handle whatever you throw at me!"_

 _Wilhelm craned his arm back behind his head and looked up to the sky. "Here goes. Ready... NOW!" Wilhelm let the ball rip out of his hands, and the ball became but a small blur as it soared through the air. Hans squinted his eyes; he knew he had but mere fractions of a second to act, so he had to track the velocity of the ball. Once he saw that it was about to go over his head, he bucked his hips and jumped up into the sky. Hans felt his spirits lifting as he soared into the air. He could see the ball coming into view, so he reached his hand out to intercept the ball. But..._

 _He felt his heart drop right back to the ground and sink. The ball just barely nicked the tip of his middle finger, and continued speeding off into the sky. Wilhelm saw the blur of the ball continue, and he let out a grunt. "Hans!"_

 _"I'm sorry, brother!" Hans watched as the ball went away, taking his spirits along with it. Hans fell back to the ground and continued to track the ball's trajectory through the air. He quickly lost view ot it once the tree line covered its fall. Wilhelm, Jürgen and Klaus all ran up to Hans and grimaced. "I told you we were playing too high-end for you," said Wilhelm, "And you didn't listen."_

 _Hans felt shame prickle down his spine, and he lowered his head to the ground. "I just wanted to be a part of the group..." Wilhelm's gaze softened when he saw how much Hans was hurt by this, and put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that, Hans. You just need to know when it's too much for you."_

 _Jürgen came up to Hans and put another hand on his other shoulder. "It's no big deal, Hans. Let's go find the ball, then we'll try to slow it down to your speed." With those words of comfort, Hans felt the prickling shame fade away, and his spirits managed to slightly brighten. "Then let's go."_

 _The four werewolves wandered off into the woods. Animals hiding in the trees and prancing along on the ground sensed the unnatural presence of the werewolves approaching them, and they instantly fled in terror. The four of them began to spread out and fan through the forest based on where they saw the ball fall. After a few minutes of searching, Klaus finally turned up lucky. "Hey guys, I think I found it!" The three werewolves heard their companion and ran to his voice. Once they reached Klaus, they saw him staring down a rather large opening in the earth. Wilhelm's eyebrow raised up, and he went up to Klaus. "So where is it?" asked Wilhelm, hoping it wasn't where he thought it was. Klaus pointed down, confirming his worst fear, and when the three other werewolves looked down, they gasped: within this crevice was an extremely large hole that was several hundred feet down. Within the hole, there were several stalagmites rising up from the base of the cave all clumped together, and stuck between two of these stalagmites was, of course, the ball._

 _"Well, this is unfortunate," muttered Jürgen, "I don't think any of us are strong enough yet to fall such large heights, and our regeneration abilities aren't powerful enough to regenerate from such grievous wounds."_

 _"What seems to be the problem there, boys?" They turned around to see who'd spoken, and their eyes widened: it was the chief, accompanied by two of his closest men. The chief had an extremely intimidating demeanor: he had a long, thick head of hair. His muscles bulged out of his clothes, but despite his aura of power, his eyes were soft and calm. It was with those eyes and his power that the werewolves of their village all followed under him. Hans was the first to speak up. "We were just playing catch, and I accidentally missed the ball, and it fell down the ravine."_

 _"Chief, what are you doing out here?" asked Wilhelm, "Not that we're not humbled by your presence." The chief let out a chuckle, "I was simply conversing with my two friends here about some urgent matters, when I heard the sounds of distress outside. Now let's see what'd down there." The chief walked to the edge of the hole, and Wilhelm yanked his brother out of his way, with Jürgen and Klaus following suit. The chief stared down at the large hole, but didn't seem particularly afraid or impressed. "Huh. This isn't a problem. I'll go down and retrieve your ball."_

 _Once he said this, the four werewolves were taken aback by this random offer. Wilhelm and Jürgen immediately interjected. "No, no, there's no need."_

 _"This is extremely minor. We'll get another ball. We don't want to take time out of your busy schedule," said Jürgen._

 _"You're the chief: you have much more important things to worry about. Such a trivial thing is beneath you."_

 _"Nonsense." The chief silenced their protests and placed his hands up to both of their faces, and then looked into the eyes of Hans, who was staring in awe and amazement. "You have a problem, and that's all I need to know." The chief patted Hans on the head, and then jumped down into the cave. While he fell down, he performed several midair flips, which caused the werewolves looking up above to stare in amazement. After a few seconds, the chief reached the tips of the stalagmites, but then, he widened his feet, which then latched themselves onto the stalagmites, slowing his descent until he fell onto the ground with a light thud. He picked up the ball, and in mere seconds, jumped back up and landed softly in front of the four werewolves. Hans_ _couldn't believe how agile and flexible the chief was. He'd never seen him up-close like this before! How incredible!_

 _The chief could see Hans' awe-stricken gaze, and his smile widened. "Here you go, Hans." The chief bent down and placed the ball in the young werewolf's hands. There were probably a million comments and questions Hans would've blurted out, but all he could say was a simple, "Thank you." For the chief, a simple "thank you" was all he needed._

* * *

"Such a thing is beneath us. So come on, let us leave!" Hans had momentarily listened to what Walter was saying, but the memories of his past brought him the wisdom that helped him make this decision. In his heart, this was what a true hero would do. So, not even bothering to register Walter's complaints, the werewolf quickly walked toward the little girl. "Wa-ha-eh..." These were the incoherent sputters that came out of Walter. Hans was deciding to play the part of a chorus member on-stage. Walter slapped both his hands onto his eyes, and ran his hands through his hair. Then, with his fingers still running through his hair, he began to follow the trail behind Hans.

The little girl heard the sound of footsteps getting closer to her, and looked behind her. At first, she was uneasy with this stranger approaching her with his imposing physique and intimidating appearance. Hans saw this fear, and took several measures to calm her down, such as removing his hat, holding his palms out, and bending down to her level. "Do not worry," said Hans, "I'm here to help you. I'm a hero from the Hero Association."

Once she heard this, she felt her heart do a flip. A hero from the Hero Association? She saw several heroes on the news, but never got to see one in-person. And now one was going to help her? "Amazing!" The little girl pointed up to her cat in the tree. "I was just opening the door to our apartment," she now pointed to the apartment just a few meters away from them, "when Polo sprinted through the door. I tried to get him back in, but a car came by and made him scared. So he ran up the tree and can't get down! My mommy's at work, and my daddy's asleep! I don't want to wake him up, but I can't reach Polo!"

"It's alright," replied Hans, "I'll get him down for you." Hans leapt up to the top of the tree. As soon as he did, Polo's back immediately arched upward. His pupils dilated till they almost completely covered his eyes, and his ears flexed backwards. Hans reached his hand out to the cat, but he immediately hissed and lashed out. The werewolf could see he couldn't get to him calmly, so using his speed, he grabbed Polo by the neck, yanked him off the tree, and instantaneously put the cat in the little girl's arms. Polo didn't even have time to register that he was grabbed, and only once he was safely in the little girl's arms did he angrily hiss at Hans, but by that time, the werewolf had already backed off. The girl also didn't catch a glimpse of the hero's movements, and almost lost her grip on Polo when Hans placed him in her arms. "Go put him back inside before he runs away again," said Hans.

"Yep!" The little girl sprinted to the doorway and quickly dropped Polo at the entrance of the door and closed the door behind her. As she was doing this, Walter walked up from behind Hans and whispered in his ear, "If anyone sees this, we'll be seen as embarrassments." Hans shook his head; this was just one of several things they disagreed on.

The little girl felt like she was walking on sunshine. She ran up to Hans, and overcome with joy, wrapped her arms around the hero's legs. "Thank you so much!" As soon as he felt those little arms tighten around his legs, his heart stopped. What was this? What was this feeling swelling inside his heart? He knew he'd felt it before, but it'd been so long since he'd been surrounded by any true love or compassion, this was almost like a whole new feeling to him. To have someone look at him with those eyes, those tender, innocent eyes, not the cold, sadistic gazes of the Major and his battalion. He still wasn't quite certain of these feelings, but the one thing he was certain of was that this feeling was nice. Overcome by this unfamiliarity, all the werewolf could do in response was gently pat the girl on the head. Walter saw this overly heartwarming scene play out, and he rolled his eyes. "Now if the girl can let go of him," muttered Walter, "we can look for some serious wo-"

Without warning, the ground began to quake. Both heroes felt this, and Hans immediately freed herself from the little girl's grasp. The intensity of the quaking drastically increased within fragments of a second, and then, storming through the street was a gargantuan creature running on all fours. This creature stood about 13 meters tall, with fur covering its body, and tusks protruding out of its face. The three realized that this creature was in fact a woolly mammoth, yet it wasn't any sort of regular woolly mammoth. No, this mammoth was three times the size of a regular mammoth or elephant. Its fur was a dark black color, with veins bulging out of its body, and its eyes were unfocused and bloodshot, as if it was just mindlessly destroying everything. The little girl screamed, and the creature's face immediately turned to her direction. The mammoth charged at the little girl, but Hans wouldn't allow it to hurt her. He jumped up in front of the monster and attempted to stop it in its tracks. However, Hans was caught off guard by this mammoth's surprising strength, and he was momentarily pushed back. The mammoth glared at Hans with bloodshot eyes, and trumpeted. It then increased the force of its march, causing the werewolf to grunt and be forced back even further, until he was just a few inches from the sidewalk. The mighty hero wasn't done, however: he let out a powerful shout, and managed to flip the monster over on its side.

Walter raced up and prepared his monofilament wires. But before he did that, he directed his attention to the little girl. "Go inside, now! Don't stay near the door or windows!" urged Walter. The little girl didn't have to be told twice; she immediately sprinted back to her home and hid in terror.

Walter and Hans raced up to the monster, standing side-by-side to prepare for this battle, while this mammoth got back up on its feet. "So is this more of what you wanted?" asked Hans.

"Yes, I'd say it is," replied Walter, "Perhaps I'll manage to break a sweat." The mammoth charged the two heroes, but he was met with an invisible blue shield that caused the monster's tusks to break at the tips. Hans jumped up and kicked the mammoth square in the head. Walter followed up the attack by slicing the tusks of the mammoth, causing the creature to bellow in anger. While the tusks were still being held by Walter's monofilament wires, Hans grabbed the two tusks midair, spun midair twice, and stabbed the two tusks into the monster's skull.

The monster let out a bellow, but its voice slowly petered out as it lost all control of its body, and blood began to flow out of its skull. With one final petter, the great beast fell on its side and succumbed to its fatal wounds. Hans and Walter walked up to the creature: they defeated their first mysterious being together, and it wasn't any pushover. "If you had to rank this monster's strength, what category would you place it in?" said Walter, "I'm willing to bet it's a disaster level Dragon."

"No, that's an exaggeration," replied Hans, "I'd say this was disaster level Demon at best, although it's hard to make an accurate comparison since we haven't fought many mysterious beings."

Now that the noises of the battlefield finally died down, some of the terrified citizens began to cautiously see if the battle was in fact over. Specifically, the door of the little girl's apartment creaked open, revealing a man with a little girl's arms laced around his legs. Once he saw the corpse of a dead monster and the two men standing over this corpse, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Excuse me!" shouted the man.

Hans and Walter turned, and saw a man with the little girl Hans helped running over to them. The man ran up to Hans, and the werewolf's eyes widened when he saw that tears were welling up in this man's eyes. "Are you the ones who helped my daughter get our cat out of the tree?"

"Yes," replied Hans.

"My daughter told me everything. If you hadn't helped my daughter when you did, then-" The father held back a sob, and stole a glance at the monstrous mammoth, "then that beast would've undoubtedly killed my little girl." He speedily went for the werewolf's hand and began vigorously shaking it, bending his head down in utter appreciation. Hans returned the handshake, although he was still uncomfortable with this overflow of positivity and compassion.

But out of nowhere, coming up on the street was a large white truck with a large logo on the side of the truck. It stopped once it came across the devastation on the street, and several newspeople with high-end cameras, boom mikes, and tripods. A few of them began to take pictures of the mammoth, while a few others took pictures of the devastation the mammoth caused on the other streets, and as they were doing so, one of them looked up at the two heroes and immediately began to tap his other workers to grab their attention. Each of them gasped and ran as fast as they could towards them while making sure to keep their equipment stable. "I know you two! You're the two new heroes that were promoted to S-class!"

The father and his daughter felt like their minds were about to explode. These were S-class heroes? They'd been noticed and saved by two heroes belonging to the most powerful category of heroes in the Hero Association? What an honor this was for them.

The reporters sprinted up to the heroes, all admiringly crowded around the three heroes, and began asking questions, to which both Hans and Walter were unable to respond at first.

"How did you defeat this monster?"

"Do you know where this mysterious being came from?"

"Was this your first official mysterious being you've fought as S-class heroes?"

The cameramen saw the father and daughter standing next to the heroes, and turned their cameras towards them to see if they could get any juicy information from them. "Can you two tell us anything about what happened?"

The man was flustered at first, but quickly regained his composure and replied, "Although I didn't see any of the battle unfold, I can tell you that these two heroes were initially helping my daughter get our cat out of a tree."

"He got Polo out of the tree and saved me from the scary elephant!" added the little girl. The cameramen and reporters all let out awes of amazement, and the reporters began to rapidly jot this information down. "It seems like these two heroes care about the wellbeing of all the public, no matter how small the problem."

"To think that S-class heroes would be helping with something so small," said one of the reporters, "What saints you two are."

"Thank you very much," replied both heroes simultaneously. The cameramen and journalists all let out small laughs, and to tell the truth, Hans and Walter couldn't help but follow along.

* * *

 ** _Monstrum Hominis Encyclopedia_**

 _Monster's name: Bully Mammoth_

 _Disaster Level: Demon_

 _Origin: Was a genetic experiment done by a research group who've been attempting to reintroduce the extinct woolly mammoth into nature. Have run across several problems, the main one being complications with development in the embryo stage and initial stages of infancy, so the scientists managed to alter the genetic code of the mammoth in order to increase the growth rate of the mammoth. Raised it in an artificial tundra, but eventually its growth rate accelerated too rapidly, causing it to increase in size and strength and also causing it to become feral and enraged._

 _Disaster level of Hans Gunsche: Dragon_

 _Disaster level of Walter: Demon in terms of physical strength, but Dragon with monofilament wires_

 _Disaster level of Alucard: Dragon_

 _Disaster level of Seras: Demon_

 _Anyway, that's a wrap for the chapter! It took me a while to create a backstory for Hans that I liked and a short story for Hans and Walter, so please tell me what you think! I'd love your opinions. I'll probably add more later on. Anyway, until Chapter 14!_


	14. Welcome to the Hero Association

_Chapter 14 of Monstrum Hominis is up! After the intense scene between the Paradisers and Saitama's group, we'll now see how events play out with that segment of the day at an end. So here it is! Enjoy!_

* * *

In the lobby of the Royal Point apartment complex, business was flowing well per-usual. People were drinking coffee, munching on croissants, and conversing about their daily lives. But sitting impatiently with an extremely large bag of items and personal belongings in the lobby was a person who was expecting someone else to be there. That someone was Genos. He'd returned to his master's apartment out of fear and concern for his master, for he still did not trust these vampires. He first knocked on his apartment door, but received no response. He next looked in nearby nearby cafes and restaurants to see if Saitama had gone for breakfast, but found no luck. Since he didn't have his master's phone number, he had no way to contact him, so all he could do was sit in the lobby and wait for him to return, which is what he'd been doing for about 30 minutes now.

The doors opened, and Genos felt some weight taken off his shoulders when he saw Saitama walk in with the two vampires walking besides him. "Master!"

The trio heard this familiar voice and were surprised to see him there so early in the day. Then again, it was almost noon, so it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.

"Hey there, Genos," beamed Seras, attempting to initiate small talk, "How'd you sleep last night?"

"Where were you, master?" asked Genos, causing Seras to pout.

"Alucard and Seras helped me stop this bald terrorist group who called themselves the Paradisers. Then, out of nowhere, we came across this assassin who called himself "Speed-O-Sound Sonic" and tried to kill us."

"Speed-o-Sound Sonic? What kind of person would give themselves such a redundant name?"

"While it is indeed a ridiculous name," said Alucard, "His abilities are nothing to be scoffed at. In fact, I'd say that you two would be evenly matched. I was honestly impressed."

Genos quicly noticed his master was holding a plastic bag. "What did you purchase, Master?"

"Oh, after we beat the Paradisers, I decided to stop off and buy some contacts for Alucard and Seras so they don't have to keep wearing sunglasses. Come on, let's go upstairs so they can try them on, and then we can resume our day." Saitama motioned to Genos, and the four heroes made their way to their apartment.

"Policegirl, let's try the contacts on." Alucard tossed a box to Seras, and the two ripped the boxes open. As they inserted the contacts into their eyes, they winced and blinked uncomfortably while the contacts positioned themselves.

Seras looked at her reflection on a nearby mirror, and smiled warmly. It felt nice to have her old eyes back, even if they weren't actually real.

"So Genos," said Saitama, "What's with the big bag you lugged up here?"

Genos places the bag on the floor, and everyone in the room heard large pieces of metal and heavy equipment bang against one another. "If it is alright with you," replied Genos, "I would like to live with you in order to get a better understanding of your day-to-day activities and learn your teachings in a more personal setting." Only part of this was true. Last night, after leaving his master alone with these two monsters, he realized that he could not leave his master so vulnerable and open to attack. In order to secure his master's safety, the best option he could think of was being here in-person to keep an eye on Alucard and Seras.

Unfortunately for Genos, Saitama didn't like the sound of this one bit. But before he could reject his proposal, Alucard interjected. "That seems like a perfectly reasonable request. I can't imagine any problems arise from such a living condition. Wouldn't you agree, Saitama?"

Saitama shot Alucard a quick glare of frustration, while Alucard innocently shrugged his shoulders. For Alucard, Genos was another example of what man should be. Although he became a cyborg, he didn't lose his identity or abandon his ideals in the process, and from his perspective, didn't become a monster. And perhaps with this arrangement, Genos would eventually warm up to them. Surprisingly, Seras was equally willing to let Genos live with them. Even though he'd been nothing but rude and hateful towards them, Seras still admired his passion to stand up to evil and his dedication to become stronger. Besides, Seras wasn't one to give up so easily.

The bald hero flailed his hands up in defeat. "Fine," said Saitama, "I suppose since this isn't my house, it isn't really up to me. You can stay." Saitama then pointed to Alucard and Seras, "But make sure to thank these two for letting you stay here, cuz if it were up to me, no offense, but I wouldn't be so welcoming."

Genos, still consumed by his resentment for them, only gave two very brief "Thank you's" to the two vampires and didn't even make eye contact. The cyborg immediately turned his attention back to his master. "Master, do you have any other plans for the day?"

Saitama created a circle with his right fingers. "Did ya have something in mind?"

"If it's alright, I would like for us to do some sparring."

"Sparring?"

"That sounds like a great idea," chimed Alucard, "Some physical exercise would do us all some good."

"I'm all in," added Seras.

"Then I guess it's decided. Do you have a place in mind for the four of us to go?" asked Saitama. Genos internally moaned: he'd meant for just him and Master Saitama. He'd barely gotten any one-on-one time with his master, and he'd hoped this would be the opportunity to do so. Alas, there wasn't anything Genos could really do to say otherwise.

"There is an isolated canyon a few dozen miles away from City Y. I already have the coordinates typed into my internal guidance system. We'll leave now, if that's agreeable to you, Master."

"All fine with me. Let's head on out."

* * *

In the canyons near City Y, the four heroes had arrived in less than 10 minutes. Once they arrived, the first thing that struck them was the desolation of the landscape. Not even tiny shrubs or the sight of tumbleweed could be seen. The only thing they could see was the large rocks and uneven walls of the canyons that towered dozens of meters over the heroes. Such a location was perfect for the sparring that was about to take place.

"I would like to thank you for accepting this request of mine," said Genos.

"No biggie," replied Saitama, "I mean, you are my disciple after all."

"So how would you like to do this, Genos?" questioned Alucard.

"My intention was for Master and I to engage in a one-on-one practice duel."

"But we can't just leave Alucard and Seras out of this. Actually..." Saitama suddenly pointed at Seras, and then at Genos. "Before you and I duke it out, let's see you two fight against one another."

Seras raised her eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"When you two first fought each other, I could tell that you were about evenly matched. I was always kind of curious to see how it would've turned out if Alucard hadn't interfered. Wouldn't you say, Alucard."

"Oh, most definitely," added Alucard, "I believe you two would make excellent sparring partners. So come on, let us see what you two can put up."

Genos bit back his tongue. "As you wish, Master."

"Same here, Master." Seras motioned to Alucard, while Saitama's lips browned upwards. "It'll be disciple vs. disciple."

"At least now I can take this off." Seras removed her arms from her jacket sleeves, revealing her demonic tentacles. Alucard grabbed the jacket and folded it in two.

"Take your places over there and there." Saitama pointed at two spots about 100 feet from each other, and the two disciples walked to their starting positions.

"So here's how it's gonna work," said Saitama, "This round is going to be treated as if it were a real fight, so I don't want either of you two to hold back."

"That will not be a problem," muttered Genos under his breath.

"Ready," Saitama raised his hand into the air. "Set..." Genos took a fighting stance, and his arms began to turn bright orange, while the faint outline of orange could be seen glowing from underneath his white t-shirt. Suddenly, his entire body began to let out faint lines of smoke from the heat of his cybernetic machinery. Then, two boosters from the back of his shoulders took shape to give him an extra boost in speed. These machine parts were not meant to fight Seras: they were meant for Saitama, although he believed they would fare just as well against her.

"GO!"

The rocket boosters burst, creating a large dust cloud behind Genos and propelling him forward with frightening speed. The cyborg jumped and held his right foot out for a side kick. Seras braced her body and jumped into the air just before Genos could reach her. She then adjusted her angle of descent and targeted Genos with a right punch. However, Genos detected this and expertly dodged her fist, which barreled into the hard rock and created a large hole.

While he was hovering in the air, he opened his palms and expelled small flames to change his direction of movement. He spun several times in the air and slammed the heel of his foot down. Seras crossed both of her arms and blocked the attack with her elbows, although the force of the cyborg's kick created a large crater and caused the rock to break into several pieces.

Seras bared her teeth and grabbed Genos' foot. She then began spun him around about three times and threw him into the sky. Genos quickly stopped his ascent with his shoulder boosters, but he wasn't able to react to Seras punching him in the stomach with her demonized fist. Small shockwaves spurred from the blow, and Genos frowned. He held out his palm out and fired a point-blank incineration blast at Seras. The vampire was enveloped in these flames, and they both began falling to the ground. Before they touched the ground, Seras quickly blew the flames away with her dark tendril and made a relatively safe landing on the ground, with Genos doing the same.

"I need more speed!" The boosters on Genos' back grew larger, and now bolts of electricity began to shoot out of the cyborg's body. Seras saw this, and powered up even more through her emotions, causing her tendril to grow in size.

The two teenagers squinted their eyes, and then engaged in a quick exchange of kicks and punches, moving across the canyon at even faster speeds than before and creating small holes in the ground from the collisions of their fists. As their hands and fists collided, neither of them was able to gain an edge over the other.

Alucard and Saitama watched the start of this battle with full clarity and budding interest. "Only a few seconds in, and the intensity's already kicking in," stated Saitama.

"Indeed," replied Alucard, "And although the policegirl may appear sweet and innocent, do not mistake it as weakness. In-battle, she is indeed a demon in battle."

"I know, I've seen her fight."

"What she's shown before is just a small flare of the fiery willpower burning inside her heart." Alucard's voice lowered, and Saitama turned his head towards Alucard, and the vampire's eyes hardened as he reminisced of the policegirl's earliest days in Hellsing. "When she first became a vampire, she was initially unwilling to take the necessary steps to becoming a full-pledged vampire, and while her abilities were above humans, they were still nothing compared to what we've seen now. But this all changed when she faced one of Millennium's top soldiers. Do you remember?"

Saitama nodded, and his bland face became more defined and serious once he sensed the tone of Alucard's voice.

"That's the organization of vampires you talked about."

"Yes, and one of the strongest members was a vampire named Zorin Blitz. Although I didn't get the two fight first-hand, she was a formidable foe indeed. Too formidable for the likes of Seras, and she was nearly brought to the brink of death, until she finally chose to accept the final step to becoming a true vampire: drinking blood. After this, the meek, shy girl unwilling to use her vampiric powers became a ruthless, terrifying vampire you now see before you."

"Wait, but if you didn't see them fight, how do you know what happened?"

"I read her mind and witnessed the utter carnage she dealt Zorin."

Saitama's eyes met the ground, and then back at the two teenagers. "These two have been through so much at such a young age," whispered Saitama.

"Indeed. Our disciples have truly frightening emotions," muttered Alucard

"Hopefully that will make them stronger."

Back on the battlefield, the two heroes were now running on the canyon face, perpendicular to the ground. As they ran, Seras attempted to slash at Genos with her tendril, but Genos managed to block her strikes.

"Machine Gun Blows!" Genos initiated a fast chain of punches, yet Seras still managed to keep up and dodge or block the cyborg's punches.

Once they reached the top of the canyon, they both performed backflips and jumped several meters into the air. Genos combined his arms to form a much larger incineration cannon with several more barrels and targeting equipment.

"Incinerate!"

A huge burst of flame shot out of the cannons. Seras was prepared this time however: using her dark tendril, she formed a large shield that was big enough to protect herself from the fiery blast. The intensity of the flames lit up the sky, and the heat from the fire caused all the rock that was in the path of the blast to be vaporized, leaving it an ugly charred color with a bright orange from the embers.

Once both fighters touched the ground, they straightened themselves and prepared to resume their battle, but not before momentarily faltering and losing their balance. Although not serious, both S-class heroes had been affected by the other's attacks. Neither had made any headway over the other.

Nevertheless, neither would back down either, and the two lunged at each other. Yet before their knuckles could clash, their fists were intercepted and stopped by two red-gloves hands. "I've seen enough," said Saitama, "It's pretty obvious to me you two are equal in strength."

"Agreed." Alucard forced himself between Genos and Seras and pushed them away from each other. "Now calm down before one of you gets carried away." Alucard accusingly stares at Genos first, whose face scrunched when he saw Alucard's face, and then at Seras, whose tendril was still large and swirling rapidly and face was also scrunched with fury from the battle.

Seeing the serious look on her master's face, the female vampire closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Her dark tendril instantly decreased in size and took the shape of a regular arm. When she opened her eyes, the vibrant and happy girl she usually was returned. "Sorry," said Seras, "I'm just not used to such intense fights. I got a bit carried away there." Seras quickly walked up to Genos and eagerly said, "Good match! I knew you were powerful, but this match just proved to me how skilled you really are!"

"Oh," muttered Genos, "Thank you." Once again, this was all Genos could muster to show just some sense of appreciation or respect towards the vampires.

"So master, can you and I now do our sparring match as you said we would?"

Saitama interlocked his knuckles and stretched them out in front of him. "Let's go for it."

"And I would like for you to not hold back, per the rules of the previous sparring match." Saitama gave Genos a thumbs-up and nodded.

Alucard and Seras stepped back about 100 feet while Saitama and Genos got into their ready positions. Once the two heroes got into place, Alucard extended his arm into the air.

"Ready, set... GO!" Alucard slashed his hand down, and Genos immediately began sprinting. While running, he moved across the ground rapidly to make his movements more unpredictable to Saitama. Then, Genos jumped up from Saitama's right, spun himself a few times horizontally, and punched his master. However, Saitama easily dodged his disciple's attack.

Genos grunted and leapt to the side. He then fired a rapid barrage of incineration blasts at Saitama, all-the-while advancing towards him. Still, Saitama effortlessly managed to evade the incineration blasts.

The disciple continued going on the offensive, so he charged his master, and similar to the match before, the two heroes exchanged several kicks and punches midair, all of which destroyed the ground even more.

"Damn it!" shouted Genos. "Must go faster! I must increase my energy output!" The cyborg's entire body glowed bright orange, even brighter than before, and soon, the rate of midair collisions increased several-fold. Then, Genos fired a short-range blast in an attempt to catch Saitama off guard, but no such luck, as Saitama dodged the blast.

"Wait..." Genos quickly realized that his master was nowhere in sight. "Where did he go?" Genos used his sensory equipment to locate Saitama, and in a few seconds, Genos found him running across the canyon at high speeds. Genos propelled himself with his rocket boosters and caught up with Saitama in just seconds.

Alucard could see the overwhelmingly obvious difference in power between the two heroes. "Even with those fancy new upgrades, he's still no match for him."

The cyborg slammed into the ground, fracturing the rocks and sending them, along with Saitama, a few meters into the air.

"Now's my chance!" Genos merger his arms to prepare the same high-powered incineration cannon that he'd used against Seras, although for this blast, he was using even more power. Once again, the force of the blast was incredible, vaporizing the canyon and leaving a very large and rather ugly curve on the rock.

"That must have hit! At last, Master will have to take me seriously!"

Creeping up from behind him, Saitama tapped Genos on his shoulder and then playfully tapped the cyborg's nose.

"Gotcha!"

Genos clenched his teeth and slashed his arm horizontally, but the bald hero jumped up to dodge it. Once he fell back down, he momentarily lost footing and almost fell just before balancing himself.

The two heroes were back at their original spots, and the two vampires were only a dozen meters away.

Genos was irritated by his master's easygoing attitude throughout this entire match, and was now prepared to show it.

"Master, you remember the rules of the match, don't you? You must fight with a serious attitude." Saitama's lackadaisical face vanished when seeing how desperately Genos wanted to see him take this seriously. If that was what he wanted, then he'd give it to him.

Alucard detected the change of expression for Saitama, and he leaned in closer, his lips curving upwards in eager anticipation.

"Give it everything you-" Genos couldn't even finish his sentence before Saitama appeared before him. Alucard, Genos, and Seras felt their hearts skip a beat. None of them had ever seen Saitama display such speed before!

Reflexively, Genos attacked with a right side kick, but before his foot could even get 2 inches from Saitama, the bald hero had already gone behind Genos and was preparing a punch, his entire front body darkened and his pupils completely gone.

"Impossible..." muttered Genos. As the cyborg rotated to face his master, he could do nothing but watch as he saw a red fist aiming at his face. At that moment, he truly felt that he was at death's door. Saitama was the grim reaper, and his fist was a scythe.

But just before the fist could reach Genos' face, Saitama pulled it back. The kinetic force behind his punch was so powerful that even stopping the fist was enough to create small shockwaves. But then, frighteningly fast winds blew from behind Genos. So much power was channeled into this single punch, the shockwave produced was wide enough to encompass the entire face of the canyon.

The cyborg was stunned speechless, and the two vampires had their jaws gaping open. Saitama, on the other hand, thought little of it, and proceeded to playfully nudge Genos on the shoulder. "If we're done here, let's go get some lunch. I'm thinking Udon noodles. Yo Seras, Alucard! We're outta here!"

The bald hero waved them over to him and casually walked away, while a million thoughts were running through the 3 S-class heroes.

"I am prepared to do whatever it takes to become stronger, and yet..." Genos looked behind him, and he felt his heart stop. The entire canyon had been carved out like a giant bowl, and the opening spanned for about half-a-mile. "I can't ever imagine reaching Master Saitama's level."

Similar to Genos, Seras could hardly believe her eyes. "He just... he just created an entirely new canyon from nothing but the shockwaves of his punch..."

Alucard was taking this even harder than the two teenagers. Once he saw the devastation Saitama caused, he fell to his knees and stared breathlessly.

The next words that came out of his mouth were but whispers. "So this is a sample of what he was holding back from me..." Butterflies began to fly around in his stomach, and without even realizing it, he began to smile. So this was the true power of a human from this dimension. It was beyond comprehension.

"You are a god among men, Saitama."

When Saitama didn't hear the sound of feet walking behind him, he peered behind his neck. "Are you guys not in the mood for udon?"

* * *

Somehow, day managed to turn into night for the four heroes. After conducting their sparring matches, they'd decided to get something to eat, Saitama's choice. So right now, the quarter was in a rather cheap restaurant housing only about a dozen people at most. As the four heroes decided to relax and take a seat, they looked up at the wall to see some of the menu options this restaurant had.

For the two vampires, nothing they saw looked particularly appetizing, as expected of creatures fueled by blood. Saitama noticed their disapproving expressions and became confused. "Is there anything here your stomachs can handle without gagging?" asked Saitama.

Alucard shook his head. "Neither of us are very familiar with the menu options here, and either way, the only things we can consume are meats, and even then, most types of meats aren't too appetizing to vampires."

"I think that you guys could stomach some shashimi and karaage." Saitama continued to look at the list of food items and stumbled across something on the board that piqued his interest. "Hey Genos, whaddya say we have another contest?" Saitama pointed at the sign, and the four heroes saw a sign for a super-spicy udon contest and a 100 yen.

* * *

One of the cooks was watching this scene with a gaping mouth and a large spoon in his mouth, for what he was witnessing now was beyond human. At his sides, restaurant-goers were whispering to one another.

"No way."

"That's insane!"

"Who is that guy?"

This time, the exceptional individual was not Saitama. The bald hero had tried his best, but unfortunately, his best wasn't nearly good enough. Before he was even halfway done, Saitama's head banged on the table, with a piece of noodle sticking out of his nostril. "I'm done for," muttered Saitama. Alucard, who'd already had his shashimi and managed to gulp it down, attempted to console Saitama and patted him on his back. Meanwhile, Seras was staring in awe like the rest of the spectators as Genos gulped down the spicy udon. While the soup slid down his throat, his entire body was glowing bright orange as it worked to digest the nutrients and other organic components of the food.

Once the last of the udon was churning in the cyborg's artificial stomach, Genos put the bowl down and asked the cook, "Does this mean I win?"

"Genos, that was amazing!" To his surprise, Seras was the one who gave this compliment, and she shone one of her genuine smiles at Genos. "Guess there's something you're better than your master at!" she exclaimed.

"No kidding. Genos, you're a badass!" While Genos thought relatively little of the female vampire's comment, he smiled warmly at his master's comment. But before Genos could thank Saitama for his comment, the cyborg heard the sliding door of the restaurant open. The chef noticed the arrival of a customer and turned his head. "Good evening. Sit anywhere you..." The chef's voice left him when he came to realize who exactly walked into his restaurant. Likewise, the other customers took a sharp breath upon seeing this man's face.

"You must be Genos, Seras, and Alucard." All four heroes looked up to see an extremely handsome man with long blue hair, golden eyes, and a dazzling smile. "I'm Amai Mask, A-class Rank 1 hero of the Hero Association. If it's alright, I'd like to speak to you three in private."

Behind the A-class hero, the customers were cooing and staring in awe at this hero.

"It's Amai Mask!"

"He's even handsomer than he looks in the papers!"

Alucard shifted his chair over to face Amai Mask. He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in between his fingers. "Is that so," said Alucard, "What would you like to discuss with the three of us?"

"Oh it's nothing serious. Would you mind stepping outside?"

"I don't see any problem," said Seras, nudging Genos with her knee underneath the table because he could see that Genos was giving the A-class hero daggers. "Do you, Genos?"

Genos quickly shot his daggers at Seras before softening his gaze. "Very well. Master, stay here. I will return in a moment. I was considering a walk to digest my food anyway." Genos pushed himself out of his chair, and the two vampires followed his lead. "Excellent." The four heroes made their way out of the restaurant and left the bald hero by himself to digest his food.

Once thy made it to the outside of the restaurant, Genos spaced himself a few inches away from the two vampires and continued to stare at Amai Mask with a defensive glare. Alucard had his arms crossed, although he was not as on the edge as Genos, while Seras was completely relaxed, having no reason to greet this hero with hostility of any sort.

"I saw that you managed to reach class S by special exception."

"Oh? And how do you know that?" asked Alucard.

"I'm a member of the Hero Association evaluation staff. Any heroes that want to reach S-class have to be approved by me."

Alucard scoffed. "Then you were one of the fools who placed Saitama in class C." Amai Mask's smile faltered. What was Alucard talking about? "To whom are you referring?"

The King of Vampires waved his hand in dismissal. "Never mind. It's pointless to refute the decision at this point."

"Anyway..." Seras took hold of the conversation to prevent any possible friction from forming. "What importance is our placement in S-class to you?"

Amai Mask looked at Seras, and his smile returned. "To be placed in S-class is an extremely rare occurrence, and a special welcome is required. At the same time, a new S-class hero has a tremendous responsibility to the public and to the reputation of the Hero Association. A professional hero, especially if they're in S-class, must always be a beautiful symbol of justice. That is the philosophy that I lead my life with."

Amai Mask took notice of the angry stare Genos was giving him, and noticed that Alucard's gaze wasn't as soft as it was just a few seconds ago. Sweet Mask innocently shrugged his shoulders in response. "Come on, there's no need to view me with such hostility. I came all the way from City A just to greet you." Amai Mask attempted to break the ice and loosen the atmosphere. "How was the certification exam?"

"It was alright," replied Seras, "It wasn't really that challenging to tell you the truth though."

"She understates it. The test was utter rubbish and a complete waste of our time." Seras jabbed Genos with her elbow, annoying the cyborg and not stopping him from his insults. "If you came to fight, get on with it. This, too, is a waste of time."

Seras finally chose to be less subtle and shoved Genos in anger. "What's the matter with you, Genos? All this man has done is show us kindness, and you've treated him with nothing but contempt!" Seras immediately turned back to Amai Mask and bowed her head, surprising Amai Mask and the other two S-class heroes. "I'm sorry about him. He's just rather impatient and quick-to-the-trigger."

Amai Mask was silent for a few seconds, but then his smile widened. "I thank you for your very respectful attitude. And as for you..." Amai Mask looked back at Genos, and his eyes became darker. "I'll look over your criticism of the Association, but here's a little heads-up for the future: being hotblooded is fine, but if you take it too far, you'll get burnt." Once he finished his sentence, his light demeanor returned. "Anyway, here are a few gifts the Hero Association decided to give to you." Amai Mask took three cards out of his inner coat pocket and handed one to each of the S-class heroes.

Alucard stuffed the card in his coat pocket and decided to follow the policegirl's lead. "I thank you for your time." Alucard extended his hand out, and Sweet Mask gladly shook it. The female vampire was the next one to exchange handshakes, and Sweet Mask just as eagerly shook this young lady's hand, but with her, Sweet Mask held onto this hand. Seras was taken aback by this sudden openness, as well as the compassionate stare he was giving her. "With a personality such as yours, you'll become one of the most popular heroes in no time."

"Thank you." The next move the A-class hero made was quite a surprise to everyone: he leaned in and planted a quick kiss on the cheek. Alucard's eyes widened for a moment, and Seras felt a mild blush creep up on her cheeks. "I expect big things from all of you." Amai Mask gave Genos a pat on his shoulder and walked off into the night.

As soon as Amai Mask turned on a street corner, Seras huffed at Genos. "Well you certainly know how to make friends, Genos."

"I have no interest in any opinions of yours. I only listen to my master's wisdom."

Seras prepared to make another retort, but bit back her tongue. It was pointless with him right now. Seras turned to ask the opinion of her master. "What did you think of him?"

"He seems like a rather respectful individual, although I see an obvious weakness with him: he cannot see the beauty of anything that doesn't fit HIS definition of beauty." This statement managed to catch the attention of Genos. "This is likely why he did not choose to put Saitama in Class S. I would be cautious with him.

"Come on, let's go back inside with Saitama." Genos quickly took the lead and reentered the restaurant. When Saitama saw them take their seats, he straightened his back while the three heroes took there seats again. "So what'd the guy come here to tell you guys?"

"He just came here to welcome us into the Hero Association," replied Alucard.

Saitama's eyebrow raised up. "What d'you mean by that?"

"Excuse me." Before Alucard could give a response, the customers in the restaurant finally felt compelled to talk to these strangers that'd been garnering so much attention and slowly walked up to the heroes. The one at the front was a young girl with a red-striped skirt. She had long brown hair looped into two ponytails, and she also had brown eyes to match it. "Are you three friends with Amai Mask?" said the young girl. Not waiting for a response, the young girl held out her hand to Seras and giddily giggled to herself. "May I shake all of your hands?"

"It'd be my pleasure," replied Seras, who immediately took the hand and gave her a smile as well. The girl went to Genos next, although Genos was not as amicable as Seras, and slowly extended his hand while maintaining a silent, neutral expression. Finally, Alucard took the young girl's hand, although his eyes took notice of Saitama looking at this scene unfold with surprise, and then looking away with his eyebrows scrunched slightly and his lips pursing into a tight line.

"Shake my hand too!" The rest of the customers took their turns shaking the hands of the S-class heroes, all-the-while ignoring the bald hero who deserved the most praise out of any of them. Once the customers went back to their seats and whispered to themselves about the incredible turn of fortune they'd just received, Alucard placed his hand on Saitama's back. Saitama lifted his head off the table and looked at Alucard curiously.

"Let's go home, Saitama." In this instance, Saitama could see that Alucard was trying to reach out to him, trying to sympathize with the bald hero and make him see he noticed his annoyance. To him, that simple little gesture meant the day to him, and it tied more strings of friendship between the two heroes. Genos, however, was unpleased that Alucard was attempting to console Saitama, for he didn't even notice anything wrong with his master.

"Thanks, Alucard." Saitama lifted himself off the chair, and with their bellies full and the day coming to a close, the four heroes walked out of the restaurant and all made their way to their home.

* * *

 _As always, Genos is rude towards everyone except his master, and it seems Seras has to be the arbiter. Stay tuned for Chapter 15 of Monstrum Hominis!_


	15. Meteor Power

_Hey guys, Chapter 15 is finally here! Almost a month has passed, and the exciting adventures os Saitama and his friends continue!_

* * *

While the planet was boisterous and lively, hovering outside of the exosphere of the planet, in the dark cosmos of space, there was a very large space station that was funded by all the cities both as a publicity stunt to unite the people of the cities and to conduct several experiments in outer space.

At the moment, everything was going fine. Several astronauts were working on calculations for experiments they were conducting, such as the effects of zero gravity on the human body, how much longer the station would stay in space before being pulled in by the Earth's gravity, etc.

Walking on the outskirts of the space station, an astronaut was preparing the modifications for a transport shuttle that would be shortly arriving with food and supplies they'd need for the next six months.

"Initiating docking procedure," said the pilot of the space shuttle through his transmitter. The astronaut was adjusting the wiring and circuitry, when his vision suddenly darkened, preventing him from seeing the control box clearly. "Huh?" The astronaut looked up, and realized that something was obstructing the sun: a giant asteroid. The asteroid's path was being changed, pulled in by the Earth's gravity, and was slowly but surely making its way down to the big ball of green and blue.

* * *

On the ground, the Hero Association had already been informed by an astronomer who'd just happened to stumble across this finding when looking through his telescope. At the moment, there were several specialists who were tracking the meteor's trajectory, and it just kept getting better.

On the wall, a large monitor was showing the angle of the meteor's predicted impact. "The meteor's increased from a 6 to a 9 on the Torino scale, and its estimated the area of impact will be City Y!" yelled a man. This caused the crowd of workers to panic and worsen the tumult brewing among the people.

Once the Hero Association executives were caught up with the situation, they called a meeting and attempted to go over the most rational course of action that would follow. Unfortunately, since there was only about 30 minutes until the time of impact, a proper response time for many of the S-class heroes wasn't good. Well, fortunately for them, there were three S-class heroes that were in City Y to go on the job.

* * *

The first night of all four heroes living under one roof had passed. When they'd arrived, they realized there wasn't a fourth bed for Genos to sleep on, and the idea of bunking up didn't suit anyone well. However, this wasn't a problem for Genos: he opted to sleep in a sleeping bag in Saitama's room. And so the night had gone on, and day had come.

It was 8:30 in the morning, and the day was off to a slow start. Alucard was helping Seras maintain her human arm. Even though she'd been working on keeping this focus in her spare time, she still wasn't quite there yet. At the moment, the most she could maintain her human arm was about an hour. Meanwhile, Saitama was looking through all of the discount prices for certain foods, trying to find some fresh foods to buy instead of a bunch of frozen foods and junk food.

"You know when we had that epic battle, you destroyed my apartment and all the food I had there," said Saitama, turning to face Alucard. He then smirked. "You should be helping me search through all of these discounts."

Alucard met Saitama's smirk with his own. "After I help the policegirl, maybe I will. I suppose I owe you that much."

Saitama let out a small chuckle and went back to looking through the discount ads. As he continued to comb through the ads, he noticed Genos was sitting right beside him, diligently writing down notes while looking intently at Saitama.

"What're you writing there, Genos," inquires Saitama.

"I'm taking notes on your daily activities," said Genos. Saitama lifted his head over Genos to see what he'd written, and he frowned when he saw a doodle of Saitama's posture and a bunch of other irrelevant details. A sweat bead slid down Saitama's face. "What the hell am I gonna do?" thought Saitama, "Genos is looking up to me for guidance, but I don't know how the hell to do that! All I know is strength training, but Genos is a cyborg! He can't become stronger through training with a robotic body! So what do I do?"

An idea crossed Saitama's mind. "Maybe you should see what Alucard and Seras are doing. It might be interesting." The cyborg's face darkened. "I have no interest in any of their activities."

Saitama scorned. "Genos, I'm not the only one you can learn from." Saitama quickly formulated some sort of deep lesson that he could teach Genos both to get him off his back and force himself to integrate even more with Seras and Alucard. It was sort of like killing two birds with one stone.

"While it's true that I'm really strong and know a lot about becoming more powerful, those two have been through their own challenges, persevered in their own way, and even learned things that I haven't learned. If you just spend your entire time looking through only one perspective, you'll never broaden your horizons and really progress at all. You see what I'm getting at?"

The cyborg was facing an internal conflict: his utter devotion to his master's words and teachings, and his hatred against monsters. It was a very fierce struggle indeed. But in the end, he believed his master knew more than he did. Besides, his master had been repeatedly telling him to be more accepting of the two vampires, and he could tell Master Saitama was becoming irked at him for refusing to do this. The last thing he wanted to have his master angry with him. "I will do my best to follow your wisdom."

"Good." Saitama felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders. He'd done it! Hopefully this would buy him enough time to come up with some other random lessons or teachings he could give Genos.

So Genos walked over to the two vampires, when his ears picked up on silent vibrations in his jacket. "Someone's calling me." Genos took out his phone, and he felt a tick go off when he was who was calling: The Hero Association.

"Hello?" asked Genos, "What does the Association require of me?"

"Genos, we need your assistance!" It was one of the branch operatives of the Hero Association calling the cyborg's cell. "There is an urgent matter that requires your attention. Also, I've pinpointed your cellphone signal and realize you're in the same apartment complex where two newly-recruited S-class heroes. Please bring them along. We'll need all the manpower we can get."

"Understood."

"The Hero Association's counting on you!" Genos hung up the phone and looked at Alucard and Seras, who were eyeing Genos with curiosity while Saitama was still looking through all the discount ads. "The Hero Association has called the three of us. We will be back later

Both vampires immediately stood up. "They called us in? Why?"

"I will tell you the details on the way. Master, we will be back later."

Saitama dismissively waved his hand. "Cya. Hopefully you're not being called in cuz you're fired."

Genos paced to the doorway and grabbed a suitcase that was laying a few feet next to the entrance. "We must hurry. The Hero Association asked us to arrive as soon as possible." Seras and Alucard followed behind him and made their way to the local Hero Association headquarters for whatever was pending.

Once they were out of the building, they began walking rather casually. "Do you know where the City Y headquarters is?" said Seras.

"I have directions implanted into my internal GPS. Follow me." The two vampires nodded and followed the lead of the S-class cyborg. While they continued walking, they were completely oblivious to the glowing red object in the sky, quickly making its way to City Y to decimate the city and its inhabitants along with it.

* * *

After about 10 minutes of walking, the three S-class heroes had finally made it to the City Y Hero Association headquarters. As the sliding doors opened for the three heroes, they were greeted with a surprising lack of people in the building. They looked around to see if there were any employees working, but there seemed to be none in sight.

"You must be the new S-class heroes that were recruited."

The three heroes noticed an elderly man standing alone in the headquarters. He wore a black shirt and white pants and appeared to have a slight hunch. His gray hair was short and spiked, and he had a gray mustache to go along with his gray hair.

"Who might you be?" asked Alucard.

"My name is Bang. I'm an S-class hero, Rank 3."

Seras returned his politeness with a smile, while Genos nominally widened his eyes. Alucard, however, made a much more... unique introduction. He walked up to the hero and began observing him, clearly fascinated with this individual. "You are an S-class hero?"

"Indeed."

"That's unbelievable!" stated Alucard. The vampire quickly extended his hand and reached for Bang's hand. At first, Bang was a little uneasy with this sudden showing of kindness, but he quickly returned the handshake and gave Alucard a sincere smile. "To think someone of your age could become one of the highest ranking heroes in the Association! That is truly a testament to the unbelievable power you must possess!"

Bang let out a soft chuckle. "I'm flattered by your praise."

"My name is Alucard." Alucard motioned his hands to Seras and Genos, who had already walked up beside Alucard. "This is Seras, and this is Genos."

Genos, being the disrespectful and to-the-point individual he was, said, "The Hero Association called us in just now."

"Indeed. Every other S-class hero is at headquarters. My dojo is near City Z, so coming here didn't take too long. Although I can't say the same for other heroes. All the S-class heroes were called here, but we appear to be the only ones who came."

"How could they not come?" said Seras.

"Who can say?" replied Bang, "Perhaps it was because of the distance, or the short notice of the threat, or maybe some of the more cold-hearted heroes simply decided not to come."

"Despicable," muttered Alucard.

"Regardless, S-class heroes are usually only called for exceptional threats, and today is no exception. I've been informed that a meteor is approaching City Y. It's been categorized as Dragon-level threat, and it is on a direct collision course towards City Y." The cyborg's eyes widened intensely."It's time of impact is estimated to be around 35 minutes."

"A meteor?" said Genos, "Coming here?"

"Apparently, it suddenly changed trajectory instead of floating harmlessly through space. The Hero Association called any S-class heroes in to deal with the problem. I regretfully say that there's nothing we can do at this time. The best course of action would be to evacuate the city along with your loved ones."

"Does the city know?" questioned Seras.

Alucard shook his head. "If they did, the city would become nothing but chaos while the people scurried for their lives and trampled one another trying to leave the city."

"Regardless of that, a warning will be announced 30 minutes before it hits the city." As if on cue, a large siren wailed through the city, informing the citizens of the situation they were soon to be facing. "And what do you know?" said Bang, "As Alucard just said, the streets are likely going to be full of people frantically fleeing the city like a her of animals."

"Well I'm not going to just stand here while these people get vaporized by a falling rock!" shouted Seras while clenching her fists and bending her knees, "I'm getting up to the top of this building to get a better view of the meteor, maybe get a better idea of what we're looking at too! Come on!" Seras immediately took off sprinting out the door. In response to this, Alucard couldn't help but feel endeared by his apprentice's blissful optimism. "You heard her. Come along, Bang. I can't imagine you'd want to spend your last day on Earth alone in the dark."

Bang looked up at Alucard and chuckled. "No I wouldn't."

The three heroes went out of the building and saw Seras eyeing something in the sky. The other heroes looked up, and saw a bright red dot glowing in the sky. "How could it be so big," muttered Seras.

"I will use my advanced internal logarithmic computers to determine where in the city this meteor will land." The processors inside the cyborg's body began turning on, and they began calculating multiple factors of the meteor's trajectory, angle of descent, velocity, etc. After a few seconds, Genos finally pinpointed the destination and pointed his finger northeast, about a mile from the center of the city. "That is where the meteor will land."

"Then let's not waste time!" The four heroes bent their knees and hopped onto the top of the nearby building, proceeding to leap and run across the roofs of these buildings.

The four heroes continued doing this for about ten minutes. As they did this, they noticed the rising number of people exiting their homes and running through the streets just as Bang and Alucard had said they would. It was like the city was a butchery, the people were cattle and the meteor was the butcher.

Genos was internally going through all the fallouts of the meteor destroying City Y. "According to the disaster level this meteor was categorized as, and the approximate diameter of the meteor, not only will City Y be destroyed, but much of the neighboring cities will likely be damaged or even destroyed as well." But worst of all, this was the city where his master lived! He could not allow his master's home to be destroyed, for such a great man deserved to have the comfort of having a roof over his head.

"I didn't expect to be using this prototype so soon!"

"Huh?" said Seras, "What're you talking about?"

Genos clicked a button on the handle of his briefcase, and then, Genos let go of the briefcase. Seras expected it to fall and for the other heroes to have to stop and get it, but she should've known better from Genos: the briefcase began to fly several meters in front of the heroes. It then split into two, rapidly changing shape into two arms. The arms flew back to Genos, where they attached themselves to the cyborg's arms, creating large currents of electricity around the points of connection. Genos performed multiple front flips and landed impressively on the top of a cheap apartment building. The other three heroes joined the teenage cyborg and grimaced at the sight of the meteor hurtling toward them. Now that it had gotten closer, they could see its purple color, the bright orange area at the tip where the friction from entering the atmosphere was occurring, and there were several deep holes grooved into the meteor.

"What're you planning to do with that new equipment?" questioned Seras.

"I am going to utilize the full power of my incineration cannons to see if that will deal sufficient damage."

"We must hope it does," said Alucard. Out of nowhere, an unknown object with a blue exhaust smoke soared at high speeds from the sky. The unknown object began flying erratically through the air until it firmly landed on the same building where the four heroes were standing on. Once the smoke around the unknown object cleared, it was revealed to be a very large silver-colored robot. It had several cannons and missiles attached to its back, and on its face were three red dots.

"Who or what is this contraption?" asked Alucard.

"I recognize this machine as one of Bofoi's robots. He's an S-class Rank 7 hero," said Genos. The hero had read about Bofoi on the Hero Association website. Apparently, he was a scientist who specialized in creating powerful machinery that utterly obliterated all of his opponents. So why had Bofoi come here today? Did he live in City Y and here of the disaster?

The robot turned its head to look at the four heroes. "Ah, you must be three of newly-recruited S-class heroes accompanied by Silver Fang."

"Hello there, Metal Knight," replied Bang, "Have you come to assist us in destroying the meteor?"

"Help you four? I have no intention of assisting any of you."

Genos and Seras squinted their eyes. "And why is that?"

"I only answered this call for the opportunity to conduct a field-test for my new missiles."

"So that's all you came out here to do?" said Seras, "This is just a science experiment to you?"

"If the meteor hits the city," continued Genos, equally displeased as Seras, "You will be eliminated as well."

"Fortunately for me, that is not the case. What you're talking to right now is just a remote-controlled drone controlled by me from City A."

Alucard felt his stomach churn. What a cowardly action. "Well aren't you lucky, Bofoi? With your robots, it appears all you have to do is sit behind a desk while the real heroes risk their lives fighting the battles you're too weak to fight." mocked Alucard.

"Say of me what you will, it matters not to me. Oh, and for your information, do not address me as "Bofoi". Heroes call each other by their hero names, isn't that right, Silver Fang?"

"That is a standard among the heroes, yes," remarked Bang, who'd chosen to remain silent out of respect for Bofoi's status as an S-class hero, "His hero name is Metal Knight."

"Now enough trivialities." Metal Knight looked up at the meteor, and from his computer in City A, began the launch sequence for his missiles. Combustion began to flame from the missiles, creating large clouds of smoke and forcing the heroes to jump up to the top of a higher building. As they looked down at the robot, Alucard sneered.

"LAUNCH MISSILES!" The missiles fired from robot, numbering about a dozen, and quickly climbed their way up to their target. The missiles collided with the meteor in a glorious, bright burst, lighting up the sky that momentarily blinded the heroes. The sky was covered with a black and orange cloud of smoke.

"Well well, it appears that his intellect gives him great destructive capabilities in his machines," commented Alucard, while the other heroes were equally astonished.

"We should be careful around him," muttered Genos.

When the climax of this debacle appeared to have come to an end, the heroes were thrust right back into the battle when the meteor burst through the cloud of smoke, appearing basically intact with no notable damage.

Metal Knight's robot looked up at the meteor. "How unfortunate. It appears my missiles weren't potent enough. Oh well. There isn't anymore I can do here." With that, Metal Knight's drone initiated its boosters and flew off into the sky, leaving the doomed city to its fate.

"Damn it," muttered Genos, "The meteor is approximately 33 seconds from impact." The cyborg put his hand on his wrist, and his inner core began to charge brightly with electricity. "I need 5 seconds to charge my incineration cannons, but the meteor is already far too close. Even if I am able to destroy the meteor, what happens if it shatters into several fragments and destroys the city? How could my incineration cannons destroy a meteor that could withstand Metal Knight's dozen missiles?"

"Enough." The three heroes turned their heads to Bang, who proceeded to walk toward Genos after seeing his several concerns. "You have lost your composure and have allowed several fears to cloud your mind. You must calm yourself in order to deal with this. Someone of your age shouldn't be so worried about failure."

"Bang is right," continued Alucard, "With the meteor so close to impact, worrying about the minutiae of what will happen is irrelevant. All you can do now is act. That is what your master would do."

Genos felt his muscles contract, and images of his master flashed through his mind. For a second, he remained motionless, but then, he grabbed his shirt and tore it off his body, revealing his mechanical body underneath. The cyborg's chest then began to open, revealing his energy core burning brightly.

"You are right," muttered Genos, "If the meteor is going to land regardless, what good will it do to just sit here and do nothing!"

"Correct!" shouted Alucard with slight glee, "In times like this, when all hope appears lost, you must stand on your feet like a man, not on your knees like a dog!"

Seras continued with unwavering support for her associate. "Come on, Genos! Blow that rock to bits! I know you can do it!"

The cyborg's right arm opened up, revealing a hatch. Genos then took his energy core in his hand and placed it onto the hatch. The energy core's electricity brightened around Genos, creating more bolts of electricity that surrounded the cyborg.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS METEOR TO DESTROY THE CITY!" screamed Genos before finally firing his full-power incineration cannon. The fiery blast was enormous, powerful enough to crack the surface beneath Genos. The pyrokinetic beam collided with the meteor, creating another great flash of light. For a moment, the meteor's descent was halted by the cyborg's blast. Around Genos, several whips of flames appeared around Genos while he continued to fire his blast. The three heroes watched to see if Genos' full-power blast was able to obliterate the meteor with nervous earnest.

"No!" shouted Seras, "The meteor's not being pushed back!"

"DAMN IT!" screamed Genos. The struggle between the meteor and the energy blast continued for about 10 seconds, until regrettably, Genos' energy core finally ran out of energy and the blast quickly petered out. With his energy depleted and his attack having failed, Genos dropped his knees to the ground. The heat from his machinery being overworked manifested into steam that rose around the cyborg.

"I've failed," said Genos. Besides him, the young vampire's heart was twisted and saddened by the sight before her. Here Genos was, hopeless and powerless, waiting to be obliterated. Then, in a surprising twist, Seras walked up to Genos and put her hand on his shoulder, eliciting surprised looks from Alucard and Bang. Genos didn't have the energy to fend her off or even look her in the eye. "You did your best, Genos."

Alucard looked at this scene fold out for a moment, and then turned his attention to Bang. "Leave now, Bang, or you will be killed."

"Hey old man." Just when the heroes had given up hope and had accepted their fates, that familiar voice rang through the air, and Alucard, Seras and Genos felt their spirits rise high into the sky. His red boots walked on the roof, and his cape fluttered in the air. Bang, however, looked at this man and only greeted him with a confused look. "Could you stay and take care of Genos?"

"Who are you?" asked Bang.

"Our savior, Bang," replied Alucard with another blissful smile, "Our savior."

"I wouldn't go that far. I'm just a hero for fun." Saitama walked up to Genos and Seras and gave them a small nod. "Hey guys."

"Master...

"Saitama, you came!"

"Of course I did." Saitama, not wasting anymore time, stretched his arms out behind him, bent his knees, and jumped into the sky. The force of his jump was strong enough tom completely fracture the entire roof and destroy all the windows of the building.

"FINISH IT, SAITAMA!" screamed Alucard.

As Saitama soared through the sky, he clenched his fist. "You're not gonna fall..." For a moment, he could feel some sense of willpower and excitement rush through him. The setting, Saitama rushing in a last stand to destroy the meteor that was just seconds from destroying the town, served to slightly pump up his blood. Although it was still nowhere near what he was looking for, it was still something.

"On MY TOWN!" For a final time, the attack collided with the meteor, creating another fiery explosion that surrounded the front of the meteor. Except this time, the power behind this attack was several times more powerful. Saitama's punch ripped through the meteor with little effort, and as he made his way through the meteor, several light blue cracks began to form around the giant rock. Once Saitama finally reached the other side of the meteor, the damage it sustained was finally too much, and in a brilliant blue flash, exploded into millions of pieces.

On the ground, all the heroes witnessed Saitama tear through this rock and the explosion that came along with it. In the sky, several bright blue rays shot out all throughout the city while the center remained black and dark. It was almost as if they were looking at the center of a galaxy.

"He shattered it! Unbelievable!" shouted Bang.

"Did I not say it?" added Alucard, "That man's power is beyond imagination."

Seras smiled, the feeling of victory flowing through her veins. But her blood quickly ran cold when a sudden realization hit her. "Master! The meteor fragments! They'll destroy the city!"

Alucard's smile faded as well upon realizing this, and he clenched his fists. "You're right! Come on, let's try to destroy as many fragments as we can!"

"Right!" Seras and Alucard ran up to the edge of the building. "Bang, protect Genos," shouted Alucard before jumping up into the sky. He then shouted to his disciple, "Go after the largest meteor fragments you see!"

"Yes, my master!"

Up in the sky, Saitama was floating helplessly while watching with mild horror all of the meteor fragments that were about to fall onto the city. But then, his eye caught Alucard and Seras jumping up. At first he was confused why they did that, but he quickly pieced together that they must've been trying to destroy the meteor fragments. "I guess I'll help too!"

Saitama turned himself back and proceeded to clap in the opposite direction. An immense burst of pressure was created, and Saitama was sent skyrocketing down to the ground.

Meanwhile, Alucard and Seras were going for their own targets. Alucard's focus had been set on a meteor fragment that was about ten meters. He'd been able to distinguish this from the hundrds of other meteor fragments thanks to his third vampiric eye. So, he quickly intercepted the rock fragment, and with a powerful punch, shattered the meteor into tiny little pebbles. On the other side, Seras had been able to notice a three meters in diameter and destroyed it with a single punch. For Saitama, thanks to his immense strength and speed, had been able to react quickly enough to destroy at least 5 larger meteor fragments before landing safely on the top of a nearby building.

While all of this had been happening, Genos remained motionless, both from his weakened energy and utter shock. Because of this, he was able to do nothing as several meteor fragments were about to land near Genos. Bang noted this and took quick action: the elderly hero got in front of Genos and began moving his hands in a fluid motion.

"Water Stream Encampment!" Bang proceeded to create a sort of pseudo-barrier for Genos by using his fists to destroy all of the meteor fragments that were coming their way. In a matter of seconds, all of the rock fragments were turned into tiny shards. This didn't mean for a second, however, that they had gotten out of harm's way. The two heroes began to slide down the roof. "The building is collapsing!" said Genos.

Bang reacted quickly and grabbed Genos, leaping into the air to look for another place to land. But as he was looking for a safe place, he'd noticed something else. It wasn't just their building that had been destroyed. All across the city, there were several bits of the meteor that hadn't been destroyed in time and were landing on many buildings, creating nothing but fire and rubble. As the other three heroes landed at separate areas across the city, they too came across this realization and frowned. They simply weren't fast enough to travel across the city and change their trajectory midair to go for other fragments. Unfortunately, this was the small price for the overwhelming victory they'd achieved this day.

* * *

The dangers that'd come to City Y were great, whereas the threats in City A were significantly less dangerous. For the two heroes, Hans and Walter, the giant mammoth they'd fought a few days before was the most powerful mysterious being they'd come across so far. And boy did they receive a lot of publicity for this one act. They'd been showered by the press for about an hour immediately after they'd defeated Bully Mammoth, which Walter seemed to enjoy more than Hans did, but guess what they saw the next day? Their faces on the newspaper! Walter had taken this news with great pride and confidence, gloating about his immense strength, while Hans had once again remained silent, choosing not to argue with Walter and remind him that if it wasn't for him choosing to help that little girl, they may not have even been there to defeat Bully Mammoth. After that, there really hadn't been many monsters to pop up, with the exception of two tiger-level mysterious beings, which Hans and Walter had defeated with almost pathetically easy efforts.

At the moment though, it was morning, and the two heroes were in their apartment, sitting in the living room and flipping through the channels. Walter was in control of the remote, and had yet to find anything remotely interesting. As he was flipping through the channels, he momentarily stopped at a news channel with the scenes of a destroyed city, piquing his interest and stopping his thumb from flicking forward on the remote.

"-and it was really something else, wouldn't you say Lindsay?"

"We really dodged a bullet there, Tom." The female news anchor turned her head to the screen. "If you're just joining us now, we're taking you live to the aftermath of a meteor that has left City Y in ruins." The heroes widened their eyes, and Hans leaned in towards the tv. "The meteor hit City Y just two days ago. According to the Hero Association, it was categorized as a Dragon-level threat, meaning that nearby cities were likely to have been destroyed in the process. Thankfully, the meteor was destroyed by the efforts of the S-class hero Metal Knight-" A picture of one of Metal Knight's drones was shown in the right-hand corner of the screen, "Who weakened it with his missiles, as well as a new S-class recruit known as Genos." A picture of a young boy with blond hair, yellow pupils and ear piercings was displayed on the screen, "This new hero is apparently a cyborg with amazing pyrokinetic abilities who was able to damage the meteor with a frighteningly large fiery beam."

"It was quite astounding," continued Tom, "But perhaps what's even more astounding is that the hero who destroyed the meteor was the lowest-level hero in the Hero Association by the name of Saitama." A picture of the hero was shown. As soon as they saw the picture, Hans and Walter were taken aback by his youthful appearance contrasted with his bald head. It didn't make much sense for someone so young to be bald already. "According to eye-witness reports, after both Metal Knight and Genos had attacked the meteor, this hero came in and managed to destroy the meteor with only a single punch! How unbelievable!"

"Now Tom, don't get ahead of yourself," contradicted Lindsay, "This was immediately after two S-class heroes had weakened the meteor. That rock must've been ready to crumble by the time this "Saitama" destroyed it."

Tom innocently shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe you're right, but it's nonetheless a big achievement for such a low-ranking C-class hero. And what's more, not a single person was killed by the meteor. Miraculous. But I can't say the same for the city, which unfortunately, sustained heavy damage-" The news anchors continued speaking while images were broadcast of the devastation in the streets, people with bruises and torn clothes who were attempting to figure out how they'd recover from this.

"Can you believe that Saitama character?" stated Walter, "Rushing in to finish the job of those other S-class heroes had already almost completed? He likely planned that as a way to get his name in the papers."

Hans positioned himself back in his chair and held his fingers to his lips while his mind worked through what he'd just seen. "Perhaps..." It's entirely possible what Walter said was correct, and this was simply a greedy man who came in at the right time to get his name spread out to the public, but still... The idea that the lowest C-class hero could've been able to destroy such a large meteor with only a single punch? As the male news anchor said, that was still a monumental achievement for someone in such a low ranking, and somehow, it didn't click with him that the meteor could've been so weakened, so ready to crumble that a single punch from a C-class hero could destroy it. To be that weak, it would've had to have been cracking already and on the verge of splitting apart, yet the news anchors didn't seem to paint it that way. He didn't know why, but somehow, his instincts were telling him that there could be more to this "Saitama" character than met the eye.

"A few other very important S-class heroes at the scene were-" Before these other heroes could be announced, Walter's attention toward the issue quickly faded, and he changed the channel. "I'd rather not start off the day with such somber news. Perhaps a movie would be better suited for this day."

Hans remained silent and tolerant as always, and relaxed in his seat while the two heroes went through their morning.

* * *

Back in the city where all the action had been occurring, the citizens were still trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild. This was the second city that had been extensively damaged like this, next to City Z. The Hero Association had initially announced that plans were in place to rebuild City Z, and Metal Knight would be personally responsible in the reconstruction process. Because of this, there had been several citizens in City Z who'd temporarily immigrated into City Y as well as the surrounding cities, and was also why much less resources were being diverted towards reconstructing City Y.

Fortunately for many S-class heroes, Royal Point had been basically undamaged, and Child Emperor returned home delighted to find that his laboratory had been able to withstand many of the meteor fragments. For the three S-class heroes and the C-class hero living in Royal Point, they were simply enjoying their morning. Saitama was playing on his Nintendo DSI XL, while Seras was breaking a new record for her arm remaining human: 6 hours.

All four heroes were situated around the television, and like the other two heroes in City A, they were watching the news broadcast of the devastation caused by the meteorite. As the news reporters were going over the extent of the damage, images were shown of several busted cars and destroyed buildings, all the heroes, minus Saitama, grimaced.

"I know we stopped the meteor from completely destroying the city, but it still hurts to see the city so damaged," exclaimed Seras.

"If only they'd called you, Master," continued Genos, "Instead of me, then you and Metal Knight could've taken care of the meteor much earlier without so much destruction to the city."

"I agree," said Alucard, "Although I wouldn't say Metal Knight's help was necessary. Saitama could've taken care of it himself and everything would've been fine."

"Thanks Alucard," said Saitama, now looking up from his game and positioning himself in an upright manner. "Either way, we've gotta know that this is better than a crater where the city would've been. We managed to keep the damage down, and you two managed to destroy some of the bigger meteor fragments before they could destroy entire city blocks, so at least you two didn't do nothing." Both Alucard and Seras smiled.

"We're lucky to even be standing here," said Genos, "I wouldn't be surprised if you will be praised by the public as a hero for generations to come."

Alucard's smile directed itself to Genos, but when he stole a glance at the television and heard the female anchor undermining Saitama's feat, and he felt his blood begin to boil. "And yet, some humans are thick enough to believe that your actions were somehow responsible for the destruction of the city .It's utterly despicable."

Seras wholeheartedly agreed with her master. "Saitama, don't listen to what anyone has to say. You know what you did, and so do we."

Saitama closed his eyes and respectfully put his palm up. "I know, I know, don't worry. It doesn't upset me." Suddenly, a question popped up in his head that he'd forgotten to ask Genos. "Hey Genos, do you know if we went up in the rankings after this?"

"As a matter of fact, we did. I was promoted from Rank 20 to Rank 19, Alucard from Rank 19 to Rank 18, Seras from Rank 21 to Rank 20, and Bofoi from Rank 7 to Rank 6. Master, you shot up from Class C, Rank 390 to Class C, Rank 5." Upon hearing this monumental jump for Saitama, the hero's hands went limp, dropping the Nintendo on the couch, and dark lines comically showed up on the side of Saitama's face.

"From Rank 390 to RANK 5? That's freaking insane!"

"Congratulations, Saitama!" Seras eagerly praised the hero, while Alucard and Genos both smiled at Saitama's sudden outburst of joy. "Well, to be fair, your performance was likely worthy of Class A, or even Class S."

"If you'd gotten there first," said Alucard, "You'd very likely be joining us in the ranks of S-class."

"You guys really think so?" stated Saitama.

Genos followed up on where Alucard was leading. "Unfortunately, the Hero Association likely assumed that Metal Knight and I did a great deal of the work."

"Yes, those fools." said Alucard. "However, there's something from that even that I took great interest in: the elderly S-class hero known as Bang."

"You mean the old guy who was with you three when Genos fired his energy blast?" asked Saitama.

"Yes. It astounded me that an old man as such could be able to be so high in the rankings despite being so old. Since I'm not doing anything at the moment, I'd like to see if I can spot him again by searching through the city. Saitama, would you like to accompany me?"

Saitama immediately brushed the idea off. "Meh, not really interested."

"We could go and see if there are any stores that have any have any special products for sale," persuaded Alucard, "After all, it's not like you're doing anything important right now. We could purchase dinner for tonight and kill two birds with one stone."

Seeing as how insistent Alucard was with Saitama accompanying him and after the points he made, the bald hero closed his eyes and his Nintendo. "Fine, I'll come with you."

"Good." Alucard was pleased that he'd gotten through to him. Saitama slowly walked to his bedroom and decided to change into his hero costume, which took about 20 seconds. When he walked out the room, he went for his wallet and the room keys, which were both on the kitchen counter. "If I'm lucky, maybe I'll run across a monster or something and move up the rankings. Genos, stay here."

"You too, Seras. I want you to keep on working on maintaining your arm's human form."

"Understood, master!" said both disciples unanimously. Their masters nodded, and made their way out the door and to the elevator. Once the two left the room, an awkward silence befell the two teenagers. This had been the first time either of them had been left alone with each other, and honestly it felt a bit odd, especially for Genos. The cyborg was still finding difficulty warming up to the two vampires, despite his master and Dr. Kuseno telling him to do so, and he was especially uncomfortable with the constant praise she was giving him, even though he'd been nothing but rude to her.

"Genos," Seras got herself up from the seat and sat right next to Genos, causing the cyborg to slightly recoil. "I just want you to know that even though you didn't destroy the meteor, I still think you did a good job." Seras had taken notice of the disappointment that Genos had been feeling over his consecutive defeats and failures against several opponents, but felt that most of this disappointment in himself was unmerited, for he'd done so many other noble deeds and stood tall against many other monsters. Now that Seras was alone with Genos, she felt this was a good opportunity to chip away at the wall Genos had built up against her.

"Do not give me false flattery," replied Genos, "In the end, my efforts were barely enough to slow DOWN the meteor, much less destroy it. I would've died if it weren't for Master Saitama."

"I know, but in the end, you fought it with everything you had and were ready to protect the people of this city with every fiber of your being." Seras put her hand to her chest and finished with, "To me. that's more than enough. That's all I wanted to say." Seras patted her thighs and calmly got up from the couch and into the kitchen, smiling and humming to herself while Genos remained stoic and motionless on the couch. Honestly, he didn't think he'd ever understand this girl.

* * *

 _So it looks like that's the end of that! Do some of you wonder what was going on at the end of the chapter, or is it just your imagination? Try and figure it out, and remember to stay tuned for Chapter 16 of Monstrum Hominis!_


	16. Vendettas

_Chapter 16 is here. With this new chapter, you'll see just what hapoens with Saitama and Alucard as they wander the streets and come across some unexpected people!_

* * *

While the two disciples were alone in their apartment, the two masters were walking the ruined streets, taking in all of the mayhem standing before them. There were men, women and children crowded around buildings. Some of them were holding wagons, presumably with their valuables they had managed to recover from their homes, but for some, the wagons barely had anything in them. This was sadly the price a few of the people they had to pay, although this was better than the price of their lives. Alas, people were not naturally adept to looking at the positives of their lives, focusing more on the negative experiences they had, which was why many of these people were mumbling to themselves. In their eyes, this was a disaster that should've been completely averted and properly handled by the Hero Association without such tremendous damage to their property and their neighborhoods.

This would've been bad by itself, but this was made worse by the many citizens of City Z that had migrated to City Y. After the unknown battle that took place there, the city was almost completely decimated. The citizens in City Z barely had any homes to return to, much worse than what the people in City Y were dealing with. Because of the extensive damage, many of the citizens were migrated to the neighboring cities, with City Y being one of those cities, and were given temporary housing in hotels and apartments. This was causing a great deal of stress and annoyance to the citizens in these cities, although the apartment and hotel complexes were actually benefiting from this because the bills the citizens of City Z would've had to pay were being paid for by the Hero Association. In fact, the Hero Association had decided to take it another level and tasked Metal Knight with repairing City Z. It was difficult for the genius hero to transport the necessary materials and get the proper funding for those materials, but it was still coming along better than what would've happened if the local governments were responsible for the task. Nevertheless, it would still take a few more weeks for the city to be fully repaired, and the people in all the cities still had to deal with the burden.

Walking through the city as a heroic duo, Saitama and Alucard ventured as they took note of all of the devastation caused by the meteor.

"Who would have imagined that a rock could cause such calamity to the city?" stated Alucard.

"And this was when I shattered the meteor," added Saitama, "Imagine how much worse it would've been if the meteor made contact."

"Thanks to you, it didn't." Alucard said this last statement with a strong tone to instill a sense of pride in the bald hero, although it did relatively little for the lifeless hero.

"Seeing all this destruction reminds me of how bad my hometown was damaged by our battle."

Alucard slowly nodded, and his lips pursed down nominally. "It was quite the monumental battle. Fortunately, like this incident, nobody died."

"I HOPE nobody died," added Saitama. After this last statement, the two heroes walked in silence for a few more moments while they continued to observe everything around them. They expected that after all the mayhem and madness within the city, there wouldn't be anymore chaos or disturbances, but it turns out they were mistaken. But what was even more surprising for them was that it wasn't even a disaster or a villain that would be the root of this disturbance, but a hero.

"No-good cheating bastard!" Saitama and Alucard looked up, and were greeted with a man yelling at them from atop a high rock. This man was a large, muscular man who has tiger stripes running through his hair and eyebrows. He also wore a tiger-striped tank top to accompany his tiger-striped hair and eyebrows. Alucard could already tell that this man would be nothing but trouble. "BROTHER!" screamed the man, "I found the guy we were looking for!"

"Hmph," said Alucard, "Saitama, be prepared for obnoxious and arrogant behavior." Saitama heard this and frustratingly raised his hands up in the air.

"That's just great."

"Did I hear you call me, brother!" The voice of another man boomed through the city. Then, this man jumped up into the sky, momentarily obstructing the sun, and landed right beside the other man with his arms crossed in a defiant manner. "The hero known as Tank-top Black Hole is here!" Tank-top Black Hole motioned to his brother, "Next to me is my little brother, Tanktop Tiger!"

"And what business do you have with us?" shouted Alucard.

"And who're you exactly?" angrily replied Tanktop Tiger, "We've got a beef with this hero here, don't get in-" The hero's voice petered out when he saw his brother hold his hand up in front of him and his face appeared somewhat shocked. "I recognize him," muttered Tank-top Black Hole, "He's one of the new S-class heroes that was promoted last week."

Once his brother heard this, he lost most of his confident arrogance. "Oh... It's an honor to meet you," said Tanktop Tiger.

Alucard smirked at their instant change in tone. "I'm sure it is," said Alucard, "Now if it wouldn't be too much of a bother, leave us be."

"But hold it!" Tank-top Black Hole didn't want to let this go so easily. "Why are you hanging around with this phony?! He just took credit for the work you and the other S-class heroes did to jump up the ranks!"

"That's right!" continued Tanktop Tiger, "Nobody could move up the ranks from 388 to 5 without cheating, you cheater!"

While this argument was taking place and Alucard's status as an S-class hero was shouted by Tank-Top Black Hole, nearby citizens began to gather around the heroes, curious about what they were hearing and wondering what it would lead to.

A fuse in Alucard's head went off. "Is that so?" Saitama could instantly tell Alucard's rage was building within him, and held his shoulder. "Don't do anything crazy," said Saitama. Alucard managed to somewhat simmer down, but had no intention to going easy on them. "Dogs like these cannot be allowed to freely insult others and self-promote themselves. It only serves to undermine the rare men that stand out within human society, and I will not stand by while society is ruined by them." Alucard disappeared for a moment and reappeared in front of the two brothers. They both recoiled when they saw his amazing speed, and the vampire smirked. "Do not even try to fathom what that man here is capable of. What were you planning to do with him anyway?"

Alucard squinted his eyes and proceeded to use his telepathic abilities to do a quick sweep of their minds to find what he was looking for. Once he realized what Tanktop Black Hole had intended to do, however, his lips curled up in a sadistic smile. "So you planned to ruin him both physically and publicly? I see..."

Tanktop Black Hole stuttered. "How did you-"

Alucard cleared his throat, paused for a second, and screamed at the top of his lungs, "WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS ARE YOU?!" Several other citizens who were walking around finally decided to join in and see what was going on. Within the thralls of the people, there was the one man that Alucard had been looking for. Surprisingly, Bang had also been looking through the city to see if he could find the four heroes he'd been a few days ago. It appears it hadn't taken him that long to find them. Well, some of them at least.

"How could you be so ruthless?" shouted Alucard, "Coming here to discredit and beat the only C-class hero who had the stomach to stay behind and combat the Dragon-level threat! It's disgraceful! Were either of you two planning on staying behind to stop the threat? I don't recall! Yet you still have the nerve to arrive and discredit this man here!"

"That's right!" The voice of one of the spectators could be heard among the crowd.

"Not cool!" another voice shouted.

Tanktop Black Hole attempted to fight back against Alucard's words. "His punch destroyed the city!"

"And what was the alternative?" Alucard retorted, "He simply let the meteor crash down or wait for some unseen hero to finish the job?" Now, Alucard turned to the citizens of City Y. "I've been made aware that many of you hold resentment over this man because his final punch inadvertently laid waste to much of the city. You must not forget that if it weren't for him, all of you would be ash in the wind. Regardless of how much damage the S-Class heroes dealt beforehand, it was him," Alucard pointed at Saitama, " Who dealt the final blow and saved this city from annihilation! Now whether not you realize this or allow arrogant fools like them," the two heroes felt their blood boil and their hearts clench, "To twist words to elevate themselves by diminishing others is your choice."

Alucard's gaze returned to Tanktop Tiger and Tanktop Black Hole. "Never attempt to humiliate Saitama or others like him ever again-" The two heroes, already rather frightened, became terrified when they saw Alucard throw punches at both heroes. They closed their eyes and prepared for the worst, but strangely, nothing happened. They opened their eyes and saw Alucard stopped his punches just inches before making contact.

The spectators began to snicker. The King of Vampires beamed: with his fists only an inch or two away from their faces, Alucard flicked his fingers at both of their faces. While it should have been nothing, even Alucard's fingers possessed impressive muscle power, and the two heroes were immediately given bloody noses. And to make it worse, those tiny flicks were even strong enough to shake their senses, and in mere seconds, the two heroes fell to the ground unconscious.

The crowd's snickers grew into laughter, and a few of the citizens went so far as to applaud the scene that just played out. Even Saitama couldn't help but mildly smirk at how Alucard had put them in their place.

The King of Vampires ignored the laughter and applause and jumped back down to Saitama. "Man, that escalated quickly," said Saitama, "But thanks for having my back there. I didn't need it, but it's still appreciated."

"Well, it was my pleasure. Watching weak dogs like that bring themselves up by pushing others down makes my stomach churn."

"For me as well." An unknown voice came to chime in on this conversation. Alucard already knew who that voice was.

"Hello, Bang." Alucard turned around to see the aged martial artist pacing towards them. "Did you see what just occurred?"

"I did indeed," replied Bang, "I was actually in the city looking for you, when out of nowhere, I heard your voice shouting. From what I could tell, those two were rookie crushers trying to jump up the ranks. Luckily, you stepped in before any serious damage could be done to Saitama's reputation."

"You said you're here to look for Alucard and me?" said Saitama, "That's funny, cuz Alucard wanted to talk to you too."

"Oh really?" Bang straightened his hunched posture and held his hand out. "What for?"

"I wanted to get a better chance to learn more about you, how you were able to make it so high in the rankings, and get a display of your power."

Bang felt his heart do a little flip. Here he thought he was going to have to try convincingly persuade them to come with him, but it appears they were already intent on doing that.

"Well if you would like, I could take you two to my dojo. It isn't too far."

Alucard clapped his hands. This day was coming together quite nicely. "Excellent. Saitama, let's go."

The bald hero wasn't enthusiastic about this offer being given and held his hand out to the other two heroes. "Nah, I'll pass. I've got some grocery shopping to do." Saitama made a sharp 180 degree turn and briefly gestured his hand up.

"Cya back at home, Alucard." Not even bothering to say farewell to Bang, Saitama walked down the street without a care in the world.

"Lead the way," said Alucard. Bang did as he said and Alucard trailed beside Bang as they casually strolled through the city.

Bang was quick to initiate conversation.

"So how did you four come together? It seems like such an unlikely combination."

Alucard lightly chuckled. "Quite an unexpected group, yes. You see, we ran into each other at the Hero Association tryouts. While we were waiting for our turns, we ran into each other. Saitama and I got along well, and we all decided to rent a room together due to the limited options and as a way to live and train together."

"I see," said Bang. They then made a left turn. At this turn, the limits of the city could be seen, and several trees and mountains could be seen. "We'll be picking up the pace now," the martial artist said.

"I've got no problems with that," replied Alucard. In a quick burst, the two heroes ran on the sidewalk, kicking up dust around them. They then ran into the woods, appearing only as blurs.

* * *

Action continued to be absent in City Y. Holding groceries in his hands, Saitama noticed this and felt mildly irked. He wanted to have the chance to take down a bad guy on his own without other S-class heroes around to take the credit.

"I guess it was kinda lucky that the old man came when he did," thought Saitama, "Since now I can fight whatever monsters or criminals I come across by myself. But how come there're no monsters or anything around?"

The bald hero let out a breath of aggravation and continued walking forward. But as he was walking forward, he stopped. His senses were picking up on something fast. He could hear the faint and rapid sound of movement among the multiple pedestrians walking on the street.

"Who's out there?" shouted Saitama, "I know you're here, so come on out."

"You were able to sense my presence. Impressive, my nemesis." Hanging upside down from a lamppost, the deadly ninja Speed-O'-Sound Sonic had returned to defeat Saitama.

Saitama's face hardened; this guy was familiar! "I remember you! We met once before! Your name was..." The bald hero put his fingers up to his chin and looked up to the sky while he tried jogging his memory. "What was it again? Cinder-on-The-ground?" Saitama looked back at Sonic and questioningly said, "Jack-O-Lantern Panic?"

"Speed-O'-Sound Sonic!" The ninja's eyes were black, and his aura felt hostile and intimidating. "I finally found you after all this time. Today, right now, our score will be-"

Saitama brazenly interrupted the ninja, clearly bored with his dialogue. "Meh, I've got other stuff to do," Saitama dismissively waved his hand and continued walking down the street. "Cya around then."

Sonic's face twisted in anger, and the veins on his forehead began to bulge. "Insolent worm!" The speedy ninja unsheathes his blade and took a fighting stance. "You cannot run from your nemesis!"

Sonic sped up to Saitama and swung his blade at the hero's head. Saitama reacted in a bizarre manner by biting on the blade, shattering it into several pieces.

The ninja's eyes opened in disbelief. "What just happened? I couldn't even see what he just did! His face should have been sliced in half, but instead my blade has been destroyed!"

Sonic jumped back and took a defensive stance this time. While this had just happened, a few people took notice of this and froze, while a few others began to slowly back away.

"I told you, I've got better things to do, alright?" said Saitama, "Maybe tomorrow or something."

A young boy watching tugged at his father's leg. "Daddy, what's going on?" asked the young boy.

"I recognize that bald man as the hero who destroyed the meteor," replied the father, "If that's true, then the other man must be some sort of criminal or monster." The father immediately scooped up his child. "We need to leave now!"

The ninja overheard this conversation, and a radical idea formed in his head. "That's right, I remember now. You told me before you'd become one of these pathetic heroes. That means..."

Sonic widened his feet and spread his arms out while smiling wickedly. "If I were to create chaos and destruction, you would be forced to intervene!" He proceeded to leap into a sky and grabbed several shurikens hidden in his shirt.

"HALL OF CARNAGE!" Sonic unleashed all of his shurikens in all directions, although since most of the city was already destroyed, there were only a few buildings that were made to look worse than before.

Saitama saw this and was repulsed. "Hey! Enough of this! You don't have to do this!"

"If you want me to stop," screamed Sonic, "Come fight and make me stop!"

The few citizens that weren't quite sure of what was going on ran away in a frantic haste. Just when they thought enough devastation had been laid to their city, here came this random intruder destroying the few remaining buildings that were undamaged and threatening citizens.

In the street, another young boy was crying, unable to understand why this was happening and in too much shock to run away. Then, some of Sonic's shurikens exploded on top of a car. The car was sent flying into the air and almost fell on the child. He screamed and closed his eyes, but the bald hero managed to react in time and blocked the car with his elbow.

"Get out of here, kid!" urged Saitama, "Run and go find your parents!" The child was more than happy to leave, managing to snap himself out of his shock and run down the street with the other citizens.

Saitama was starting to get annoyed. "Dang it, Sonic. Why do you have to go around and create such a mess?" The bald hero looked up and saw Sonic was throwing more shurikens at a couple of undamaged buildings. "Guess I have to stop you myself..." muttered Saitama.

"Look at all this destruction!" shouted Sonic with frightening glee, "Where is the hero to stop me, huh?!"

Unfortunately for Sonic, Saitama wasn't willing to let him go like he did before, and appeared behind Sonic in the blink of an eye.

"I'm right here," said a nonchalant Saitama before effortlessly chopping the ninja on the neck. He was sent plummeting to the ground, creating a large crater with the defeated ninja in the center of it.

Saitama looked down at Sonic's twitching body. "Sorry, but you had it coming. I'm gonna go finish my shopping." The bald hero resumed walking on the broken road while whistling a jolly tune, acting as if nothing had happened.

* * *

The sun had begun to set on the devastated city. While Saitama and Alucard had their dramatic events in their days, Seras and Genos had done relatively little in their apartment. Genos had spent most of the day surfing the internet and cleaning the apartment, while Seras had focused most of her attention on maintaining her arm's human form. She was delighted to see that she'd been able to successfully maintain its human form for about a day straight.

At the moment, Seras was watching some television on the couch while Genos was on his phone checking some emails and keeping a constant eye to make sure he'd see when Saitama texted or called him.

"It's been more than six hours, and Master hasn't returned," stated Genos, "Why is it taking so long?"

"Genos, calm down," replied Seras, "Remember, a lot of the city was damaged, so my master and him likely spent most of the afternoon looking for any undamaged shops. I'm sure everything is fine with them."

The teenage girl's words managed to calm the teenage boy down. "I hope you're right."

About five minutes passed with both teenagers off in their own worlds, when their ears picked up on the sound of keys.

"Could it be..." muttered Genos.

Sure enough, the door flung open and showed Saitama with about 5 grocery bags hanging around Saitama's arms. "Hey you two," said Saitama, "Could you help me get this stuff in the kitchen?"

The two disciples didn't need to be told twice. They immediately sprinted and grabbed about four bags each.

"Thanks," replied Saitama, "It took me a while to find a good shop to find, and once I did, I found out they were selling a lot of their stuff at discount price since most of their products were destroyed and they wanted to get rid of them."

While Saitama and Genos were unloading the products out of the bag, Seras stopped when she realized something was missing. "Saitama, where is my master?"

"Huh? Oh yea." Saitama let out a chuckle when he reminisced on what happened that morning. "You're not gonna believe what happened this morning."

The two teenagers pointed their attention to Saitama while the bald hero regaled the morning's tale. He told them about Tanktop Tiger and Tanktop Black Hole, how Alucard had come to his defense and humiliated them, how Bang came along and took Alucard to his place, and finally, his run-in with Sonic.

After finishing the story, which took about five minutes, both Genos and Seras were rather surprised.

"Well, it appears Alucard managed to do something right for once," muttered Genos. The female vampire heard this and let out another one of her sighs she made whenever Genos was being impossible to deal with.

"So when do you think he'll be back?" questioned Seras. The bald hero replied by casually shrugging his shoulders. "Who knows?" Saitama took one of the meat products and proceeded to rip open the container. "In the meantime, how about we start making dinner?"

"I'll get the pans!" said Genos.

"I'll get the cooking oil!" added Seras.

The three heroes began preparing their dinner for about twenty minutes. They attempted to make small talk, which Genos was terrible at, and Genos looked up some recipes to make based on the products Saitama bought.

Then, the doorknob began to jiggle. Saitama was the first to react and opened the door for he assumed it was. Sure enough, Alucard was behind the door, looking surprisingly calmer than usual.

"Hey Alucard," said Saitama, "What happened? How was the old man's place?"

Alucard's calm demeanor faded, and he looked at Saitama with an aggravated expression, marking the first time Alucard ever showed any sort of anger towards Saitama after their battle. "His name is Bang.

"Right, right..." Alucard walked into the apartment and greeted Seras and Genos.

"Hello Genos, policegirl." Alucard looked at his servant. "So have you been successful in maintaining your arm's human form?"

"Yes sir! I've managed to keep it looking normal for 24 hours!"

Alucard beamed pridefully at his servant's progress. "Excellent. You're progressing even faster than I thought. Within a week or so, your arm will stay permanently human without you having to focus on keeping it that way."

"Great to hear!" Alucard made his way toward the couch and plopped down onto the furniture.

"So how was your visit to Bang's home?" asked Seras.

"It was very worthwhile. I'm assuming Saitama already told you what happened this morning before we found Bang?"

Genos answered for Saitama and Seras. "Yes, Master already told us about the two heroes who tried to humiliate him and how you defended him."

"Well, after that incident, I went with Bang to his dojo to get to know him better, and I must say, he's worthy of his status as the S-class Rank 3 hero."

The curiosity was rising inside Seras. "How so?"

"Well..."

* * *

 _It had taken about 30-45 minutes to get to Bang's dojo. Once they made it, the two S-class heroes began walking the rising walkway leading to Bang's dojo resting atop the mountain._

 _"Your dojo is quite secluded," remarked Alucard._

 _"I prefer the serenity of the nature and think it's a better environment for training." They were now at the top of the staircase and they were staring face-to-face at the dojo's entrance. The martial artist pushed the doors open, and the duo entered the dojo. Alucard looked all around him, noting the wood design. He also noticed several pieces of equipment, such as stone slabs, training dummies, and a few mats. Using one of the training dummies was a young man with rather long orange hair._

 _"You're Charanko, huh?" Charanko stopped his training to see who'd come in, yet immediately bowed down when he saw his master._

 _"You're back, Master!" said Charanko. "Did you find what you were looking for?"_

 _"To an extent." Bang motioned his hand to the vampire. "This is Alucard, a new S-class hero. He's come to get a glimpse of my martial arts style."_

 _"Oh!" Charanko bended his back upward and extended his hand towards Alucard. "It's an honor to meet another S-class hero!"_

 _"Thank you."_

 _"You've made the right decision to come to this dojo." Charanko took a step closer to his master. "Bang's martial art is extremely versatile. The Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist is graceful and deadly, leading its opponents like a calm river, yet striking with unbelievable force!"_

 _"It sounds impressive," Alucard said, "Could you give me a demonstration, Bang?"_

 _"With pleasure." Bang walked over to the multiple stone tablets stacked on top of one another and put himself in between the stacks. "Please sit."_

 _Alucard did as Bang asked and seated himself with his legs crossed, his back straight and his hands calmly resting on his thighs._

 _"Observe." Bang squeezes his fingers together and put them on the tops of the stacks. The martial artist's hands suddenly gained a faint, light-blue aura, and with only single taps, all of the stone tablets were split in half._

 _Even after seeing Saitama's immeasurable power and knowing Saitama was capable of this and far more, what he just did and the ease with which he did it was still unbelievable in the eyes of Alucard._

 _"Now that I've shown you my physical strength empowered by my martial arts," said Bang, "I will now show you a more demonstrative example of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist."_

 _Bang lightly tapped the stone piles sideways, and they were sent flying several meters in their respective directions, where they would then break and scatter into millions of tiny pieces._

 _"I'll get that, Master!" Charanko inwardly yelled in anger and began to sweep the mess while Bang and Alucard continued._

 _The martial artist extended his two hands. Then, he began to move them back. As he was doing this, Alucard noticed the blue aura around Bang's fists again. It was as if his fists were rivers, and the directions they went changed the water current._

 _The martial artist began to move his hands and arms now, doing this very smoothly and intricately, as if there was a purpose for every place his fists were or would be. But before he could go any further, he stopped and put his hands behind his back._

 _"So what do you think?"_

 _Just when he'd thought Saitama was the only human of flesh and blood with such prowess, here came another human to prove him wrong._

 _"How... how did you become so strong?" muttered Alucard._

 _"I spent all my life training, creating and mastering my own martial art under the tutelage of my older brother, Bomb."_

 _Alucard's mind came to a screeching halt. "A brother? You mean there's another martial artist of your caliber?"_

 _Bang shook his head. "It might sting to admit it, but I would say he's still stronger than I am." Alucard was speechless._

 _"Anyway, it was an extremely challenging task, creating the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist." To Alucard's surprise and confusion, Bang began to remove his shirt. Alucard's eyes opened slightly: all across Bang's body, there were dozens of large scars on his skin. Alucard had seen, and unfortunately done, much worse, but this was still quite gruesome._

 _"These are all the scars I have gained while trying to master the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist."_

 _"So you became this powerful only through... training?"_

 _"Correct. I've come to believe it is the only way to improve and become truly strong."_

 _The path was being shown. The path to power taken by both Saitama and Bang: training. Pushing themselves to the limit through physical exercise and pain. The Vampire King hadn't been able to come to terms with it before when Saitama told him; he thought there had to be more to the key to his power. Maybe there was, but right now, it became undeniable that the path to strength was training. And to do it, he would need a strong opponent to spar against..._

 _"Face me."_

 _Bang's eyebrow furrowed up. "What?"_

 _"I'd like to fight you in a sparring match. I want to see how big the gap between your strength and mine is."_

 _The martial artist held his hand out and disapprovingly shook his head. "If we fought and I used my Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, I fear I might seriously damage you."_

 _Alucard slashes his hand through the air. "Irrelevant! My body has been damaged and scarred my entire life! Any damage you deal, I can handle._

 _Bang stared silently for a moment, eyeing Alucard's intense resolve. He wasn't afraid. Bang didn't quite know where to put Alucard. On one hand, he was extremely brave, respectful and charismatic to those he knew. On the other hand, he had this uncanny power of putting down and humiliating his enemies, taking pleasure that bordered on sadism. He was a hero, yet he was no stranger to his dark side._

 _"As you wish." If this was what Alucard wanted, Bang didn't want to refuse this request. Bang turned around and opened a set of sliding doors, revealing a very wide stone floor._

 _"Here is where we will battle. It's the main training area for my disciple."_

 _Alucard walked to the right side of the area, and Bang stood opposite._

 _"I hope I will not disappoint you," said Bang._

 _A devilish giddiness came over Alucard, and he smiled. "I know you won't."_

 _The Vampire King lunged at Bang with his fingers curled into a fist. The martial artist expertly captured and changed the direction of Alucard's punch, and Alucard stumbled while nearly losing his footing._

 _The vampire growled and struck Bang once again with a flurry of punches. Bang proceeded to redirect all the blows with only minor difficulty. Alucard followed up with a right roundhouse kick. The aged martial artist intercepted his leg and actually pushed on it to increase the kick's speed. This increase of speed caused Alucard's body to twist with his body, allowing Bang to land a powerful blow on Alucard's back while he was distracted, sending the vampire crashing into a wooden pillar._

 _Alucard quickly got himself back up and stared silently at his opponent. Bang's martial art was amazing: it allowed him to intercept and deflect all of Alucard's punches with only minimal and fluid movements. Bang was not like any fighter he'd encountered before, who only used their brute strength._

 _"I believe I'll have to get serious now," said Alucard._

 _"By all means, be my guest."_

 _The monster proceeded to remove his trench coat and his hat. Alucard then began to remove the restraints on his power, although he made sure to do this without morphing or destroying his body. The only thing that was noticeable was the symbols on Alucard's gloves brightly glowing, but he made sure to cover his hands with his jacket. Alucard waited a few seconds for his power to finish being released. Once he was finished, he tossed his hat and coat to the side and cracked his knuckles._

 _"Be prepared for what's about to come," warned Alucard, "And know that I won't hold back." He channeled all of his instincts and willpower into a primal shout and sprinted towards Bang. Alucard then jumped into the air, where he clamped his fists together and struck downward. Instead of dodging, Bang once again caught Alucard's fists and using the momentum Alucard had already built up, slammed the vampire into the ground back-first, creating a large hole in the process._

 _Alucard quickly jumped back up and pointed his fingers in an attempt to stab Bang. The martial artist met Alucard's hand with his own. This hand flowed around Alucard's arm, using its momentum to increase his own, and punched Alucard square in the jaw._

 _"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"_

 _Bang proceeded to pummel Alucard with a series of strong attacks. While Alucard was being struck, he noticed how Bang was attacking with only his fingers while dealing such heavy blows. Not only that, but Bang was somehow able to use his fingers to target his body's vulnerable spots, such as his ribs, his temple, and many more exposed areas of his body. Because of this, the damage became much more extensive, and the vampire was beginning to lose sensations in his body._

 _"GRAH!" Alucard attempted to power through these punches by holding his elbows up. The best course was to immobilize him and restrict the movement of his limbs. The monster then opened his arms out in an attempt to tackle him and take him by surprise. But Bang was too quick and too experienced: once again, Bang expertly redirected and increased Alucard's speed by crouching once Alucard was above him and kicking the monster up by about 45 degrees so he wouldn't completely lose the momentum he gained._

 _Alucard grunted in agony while he was sent flying. Bang followed up by jumping above Alucard and kicking him back to the ground. Fortunately, Alucard managed to adjust his descent at the last second and landed on his feet._

 _Once Bang fell back to the ground, he made several swift movements left and right towards Alucard. The monster had difficulty reading his fluid movements, and barely had enough time to defend himself when Bang rushed mere inches next to him._

 _Alucard expected another powerful punch to come, but instead, all Bang did was a swift feint and brushed Alucard's arms aside. The monster didn't understand what Bang was doing, but the martial artist quickly made it clear to him._

 _"Instantaneous Effect!"_

 _Bang landed an immensely swift and powerful punch on one of Alucard's weak spots. The monster was sent flying sideways, so fast and so powerful, in fact, that he tore a hole through the dojo and crashed through about 10 trees until he finally stopped._

 _The aged martial artist gasped and felt a tingle of fear travel down his spine. "Oh no! I went overboard with that move!"_

 _Bang quickly sprinted to Alucard and saw him lodged inside the base of a wide tree. He grimaced when he saw how bloody and bruised Alucard's body was, as well as the hole where he'd struck with his Instantaneous Effect. Bang grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the tree. "Are you alright?" a distraught Bang asked._

 _The monster attempted to dismiss Bang's concerns. "It's-it's fine."_

 _"I didn't mean to cause such grave damage," Bang said, "I thought it would be less severe."_

 _Alucard put his hand on the man's shoulders and gazed at him intently. "Do not worry. You gave me exactly what I was looking for."_

 _This caught Bang off-guard. "It did?"_

 _"I now see your fighting style more clearly: you redirect your opponent's attacks, use their force to increase your own. Not only that, but you've managed to increase your precision by attacking with only your fingertips, targeting your opponent's weak spots._

 _"Even though Saitama may still be physically stronger than you, your fighting instincts and techniques far surpass him, and for that, you should feel proud."_

 _Bang was once again touched by Alucard's words. "Thank you very much."_

 _The martial artist politely brushed Alucard's hand off his shoulder. "But I do not want to continue our battle anymore. You've been dealt far too much damage. We'll go inside and have Charanko get you some bandages and water."_

 _Alucard winced in pain and put his hand on his ribcage. "You may be right about that. But like I said before, do not worry about my injuries. I've been dealt far worse, and my body has been able to heal in no-time flat. With a night's rest, I'll be fully functional tomorrow."_

 _Bang closed his eyes and smiled. "Glad to hear it." The two S-class heroes walked together back into the dojo, with both of them enjoying themselves and each other's company._

 _Once they re-entered the dojo, Charanko was instantly taken aback by Alucard's damages state. "Oh my god!" the young man said, "My Master really did a number on you."_

 _"Yes he did," Alucard responded._

 _"Charanko, fetch some bandages and water for Alucard."_

 _"Yes sir!" Charanko sprinted off into another room while Alucard rested against a wall and relaxed his body._

 _Bang attempted to find a way to entertain his guest, so he changed his attitude to that of a wish-fulfilling host. "I believe you've had enough of my martial arts for today. Could I perhaps interest you in a game of Chess? It's one of my past times."_

 _"It's been a while since I've played that game." A while was an understatement: the last time Alucard had played that game was more than 50 years ago, but he didn't want to be rude. "But why not!"_

 _"Excellent! Just sit and relax for the afternoon while Charanko gets your bandages and I get a chess board!"_

 _Bang rushed off into his living quarters and left Alucard alone. The vampire allowed his arms to fall to his sides and his head to lay back against the wall._

 _"Have to make sure to significantly decrease my regeneration," muttered Alucard, "Or else it will look suspicious..."_

 _"Here it is!" Charanko came running to Alucard with a glass of water in his left hand and several cloths and bandages on his right. The young man then knelt beside Alucard and used the cloths to put pressure on the areas where he was bleeding. "Thank you," said Alucard._

 _"Don't mention it," said Charanko, "I'm amazed you're still conscious after a beating like that! Master's Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist is strong enough to dismember most opponents that he faces!"_

 _"I don't doubt it." Alucard took a sip from his water while Bang returned with a chess board in his hand. "Here we are."_

 _Bang knelt in front of Alucard and began to set up the board. "Like I said, don't move. Just rest while you and I indulge in this game, and soon, I will have Charanko prepare us a delicious beef cutlet."_

 _"That sounds fine." Alucard reached his hand forward and made the first move. What a dramatic start to Alucard's day._

* * *

"So after lunch, I decided to leave. Before leaving though, I told him that I'd bring the rest of us over for tomorrow."

"Wait, what?" The bald hero's lips curved downward, and his eye twitched. Saitama didn't want to be dragged along to be a part of this. He'd much rather spend his afternoon relaxing st home, playing Heartgold.

"I'd expected you to be resistant to the idea," said Alucard, noticing Saitama's souring face, "Which is why Bang has decided to get some premium meat for us tomorrow for lunch."

Saitama's entire view changed upon hearing this, and his sourness turned into sweetness. "Then I guess we're off to Bang's place tomorrow."

"That's The Saitama I expect to see tomorrow.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you: while I was returning, I decided to take care of some things that I think have been pending, but I've never had the time to do. For starters-"

Alucard pulled two new and very impressive looking pistols out of his pockets, surprising all the heroes. "I decided to go to the Hero Association Headquarters and asked for their most powerful pistols, as well as giving them my other two guns to make more ammo for them."

"Smart thinkin' there," said Saitama.

"Not only that, but it turns out that I've received money for some of the deeds I've done so far." Alucard turned to Seras, "Do you remember that monster we first came across in this city?"

Seras grit her teeth at the thought of that monstrous mutt. "Yes, I remember."

"Well apparently, the hero we saved told the Hero Association we were behind his death, so they gave us a large sum of money. It also turns out the Association went out of their way to create banks accounts for us so we can deposit or withdraw money whenever we please. And finally-"

Alucard fished for something else in his pocket, and took out two phones. "I used the money in my account to purchase cellular phones for us and a data plan." The vampire put his fingers to his temples. "That part was the most vexatious part, having to listen to the employee drone on and on about all the available options and costs and such. Anyway, now we can have better contact with one another, and the Association can call us if there's a threat."

"Dang man." Saitama couldn't help but feel slightly impressed at everything Alucard got done today. He was usually never this attentive, and often missed a lot of important things because of it. "You really got a lot of stuff done today."

"Well, I suppose I thought today was as good as any day." Alucard took a whiff with his nose and sensed an aroma in the air. "It appears you managed to get some things done as well."

"I got some pretty good deals. The meal's almost ready."

"Good to hear." Once again, the four heroes had their own experiences, and at the end of the day, it ended with all four of them together as one. What a group this was.

* * *

 _So that's the end of that! Some interesting experiences for Saitama and Alucard, while both Alucard and Bang got what they were looking for. See what happens at Bang's dojo in the next chapter of Monstrum Hominis!_


	17. Lessons

_It's time for the new chapter! I'm happy to say that this chapter comes out only 9 days after my previous chapter, which is quite rare for me. Anyway, now you'll see just what's going on today at Bang's dojo, and maybe a little more. So have fun reading!_

* * *

The night had passed, and the day had begun. Sitting cross legged at his dojo, the master of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist was waiting for Alucard, Saitama, Genos and Seras.

Bang was becoming to get slightly nervous. He'd been told by Alucard that Saitama wasn't very open to new experiences or places and had to be coaxed into coming through some very expensive meat. Because of this, he had Charanko go into the city and fetch this very expensive meat, which was now sitting in his kitchen area.

If he was lucky, he'd convince them all to study and train at his dojo, especially since his dojo was sorely lacking in students after the incident with his previous top student.

Bang's mind shuddered. The memory of his students lying unconscious, beaten, on the verge of death, and with one standing atop all of them, smiling with sadistic glee: Garou. It caused his entire body to chill. To think he could have dropped so low, after all the talent he showed and after all the attention, praise and private lessons he'd give him. He thought Garou was destined to take his place and become the next master of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist after Bang died. It truly saddened him to see he was wrong. He didn't know where Garou was right now, but all Bang could hope was that he wasn't sowing more chaos.

Footsteps. Bang's ears brimmed upon hearing the sounds of footsteps nearing the doors. The doors flew open, and the martial artist was relieved to see the faces of the four people he was expecting to see.

"Nice to see you again, Bang!" said Seras and attempted to create a bright atmosphere, "My Master told me you gave him quite a beating yesterday!"

The martial artist nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes, I unfortunately went a bit too hard on Alucard here." Bang's eyes moved to look at Alucard, and he felt a small weight being lifted off his shoulders. "I'm glad to see you're fully recovered now."

Alucard scoffed. "Like I said, all I needed was a night's rest."

Saitama cleared his throat, causing everyone to look at him. "So..." Saitama blew his cheeks and clapped his hands together. "Alucard told me you had some premium meat you bought."

"That's correct," replied Bang. "I've been made aware that you enjoy this kind of food. But before I serve it, there's something I'd like to do."

Genos wasn't willing to loosen up and went straight to the point. "What exactly is it that you want from us?"

Bang closed his eyes as he mulled over how to answer this question. How was he going to try and convince them? Alucard gave him some advice yesterday on how to convince Saitama and Genos to join: Seras was apparently easy to persuade, as she was more open, but with Saitama and Genos, Alucard said it would be a tough endeavor. The vampire also told Bang that a physical show of force as he showed Alucard by destroying the stone tablets wouldn't be enough for Saitama, since he could accomplish and exceed such feats. If he was to convince the two to join his dojo, he would have to find a way to show them that there were areas in which Bang exceeded them and could teach them to improve upon.

"Let's play Karuta!" Bang swiftly rushed to get the game, and in only a few seconds, came back and placed a box on the floor. The four heroes didn't understand what this was. "Please, all of you take a seat!"

Everyone in the room complied, and they all huddled around Bang and the boxed game. "Come on," whined Saitama, "Can you please just give us the meat you promised?"

Alucard gave Saitama a stern look. "Patience, Saitama. We're in no rush." The bald hero sighed and kept his mouth shut.

Bang rotated his head to his disciple. "Charanko, you read the cards." The martial artist firmly nodded his head. "Yes sir!" He then began to unpack the box and place the cards on the ground. While he was doing this, Seras decided to ask a question that she had when she first came in. "How come Charanko is the only disciple here? For someone as powerful as you, I'd imagine you would have many disciples."

Pain gripped Bang's chest. That answer had quite a tragic and terrible history to it. "I once had many disciples," said Bang, "But almost all of them quit after an incident." Charanko finished putting the last cards on the floor and cleared his throat. "A story for another time. Saitama, you play first."

The bald hero huddled forward while the other three inched backwards slightly. The bald hero hunched forward, staring at Bang with serious intent, while Bang remained calm and composed. Charanko picked up a card and began to read it:

"Nu-" Before any of the heroes could even register it, Bang had already picked up the card he needed. Even Saitama was in disbelief with what he saw. "What the-"

Bang flipped the card to show the heroes, pleased to see he'd managed to get a reaction out of Saitama and hiding a smirk with his silver mustache. "How is that? By sharpening every nerve through my martial arts training, my reaction time has been boosted for instantaneous effect. That is the very essence of martial arts."

"Oh my god!" replied Seras, "That's unbelievable!"

"You see, Saitama?" Alucard nudged Saitama's ribcage with his elbow. "Even with all your power, you still have areas to improve upon."

The bald hero wasn't buying into the idea, though. He'd just been caught off-guard is all. Within the hero's soul, his passion began to ignite.

Charanko mixed the cards, while Saitama hovered above them, his hands stretched out and his eyes dead-focused. Bang, on the other hand, kept his eyes closed, remaining supremely calm and confident. The next card was being announced.

"Rol-"

Saitama slammed his hands to the ground. Now, Bang's composure had disappeared with what he felt and saw: Saitama's move lifted all of the cards into the air. This time, it was Saitama's turn to smirk with confidence as he grabbed the card he was looking for mid-air. "Here ya go," mocked Saitama.

Beside him, the teenage cyborg held out his palm, where it began to glow brightly. "So the individual who can flick more cards will win? A very smart observation, master."

Seras leaned so that she was slightly ahead of Genos. "Hold on! I don't think that's how it works! You can't just go around and invent new rules to games!" Seras wasn't just talking to Genos this time. "That goes for you too, Saitama!"

Alucard was taking all of this in. He expected as much from such rambunctious souls as Saitama and Genos. Thankfully, Seras had levels of respect and class that prevented her passion from getting the better of her. "Unfortunately Bang, these two aren't the type of people who sit inside and play quiet card games. No, you'll need to do something more... force."

Bang heard Alucard's suggestion and took this advice to heart. "Yes, that seems to be the case. If so, then we'll play a more old-fashion game."

Bang walked up to a nearby closet and took out a helmets and two rubber hammer. Alucard was already liking where this was going. He came back and put all of the objects next to each other, with the helmet being in between both of the hammers.

"This is a training method passed down in this dojo over generations. It's a kind of free-style sparring game. First, the two players decide who's going to strike and who's going to defend through "shi dao" and "gian tse"".

"So basically just rock, paper scissors?" interrupted Saitama. Bang's voice faltered, but he continued his explanation. "Then, the winner proceeds to pick up the weapon, while the other defends themselves from the attacker with the helmet."

"Oh, that seems easy enough." Seras managed to get the gist of what the game was about and sat with her knees on the ground in front of the equipment. "I'll go first. This seems like a whole bunch of fun."

"Very good. Let's begin." Both heroes sat with their knees on the floor. The tension was starting to build, and everyone around them was eagerly waiting in anticipation.

"Hit, cover: Rock, Paper, Scissors!" The heroes threw their hands out: Bang had thrown scissors, while Seras threw paper. The female vampire widened her eyes, and shot her hand out for the helmet. Alas, just as her fingers were hovering over the helmet, the martial artist had already grabbed the hammer and tapped her head with it. Even with the soft and squishy material, the speed and power with which Bang swung the hammer was enough to create visible steam and a red mark on the area where Seras was hit. Bang could immediately sense her lack of training with her delayed reflexes. She was still a rookie with plenty of things for Bang to teach her.

For a moment, Seras felt angry, but she quickly allowed the anger to dissipate and politely smiled. "No wonder you were able to beat my master!"

Bang let out a soft chuckle. "It took me many decades to sharpen my reflexes, but the payoff was quite worth it." Now for the other heroes. "So what about you three? Are you going to let the lady do all the honors, or is this game to advanced for you?"

Saitama's blood had begun to pump again, and the hero got up from his crouched position, his eyes wild with excitement. "Now this looks like something better suited to my style. Seras, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to tag in."

Seras held her hands out and trudged away from the spot she was in. "Be my guest."

"You should be handle this no problem, Master." Genos continued to have the utmost confidence in his master. However, Alucard was not so convinced in Saitama's victory. Bang had his martial arts and the heightened senses it gave him, and given the shocked expression Saitama had before with Bang's reflexes, that was no ordinary feat. Whatever the outcome was, Alucard was sure to be entertained.

"Hit, cover: Rock, Paper Scissors!" Saitama's rock was covered by Bang's paper. The bald hero's eyes widened, and he desperately tried to grab the helmet. Unfortunately for him, just as he was grabbing the helmet, it pushed out of his reach, but before he even had time to pick it up off the ground, Bang had already grabbed his hammer and whacked Saitama on the head. All of the heroes were amazed: Bang was actually quicker than Saitama? No, that wasn't it. Alucard knew that the purpose behind this was exactly what Bang had said before: his decades of martial arts training increased his reflex speed to higher levels than Saitama. Even though the bald hero was faster than Bang, Bang's reflexes superseded Saitama's speed. All thanks to training.

Saitama's head was sizzling from the point of impact, and his spirit was equally hot. "Damn it!" shouted Saitama, "Let's go again!"

Bang had no objections. "So be it. You ready?"

Charanko held the next round card, and the third round began. "Rock, Paper, Scissors!" Once again, the old man's choice beat the bald man's choice, and again Bang banged his hammer against Saitama's head.

Round four began, and again, the result was the same. Then Round 5. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Loss, loss, loss, loss, loss.

This apparently endless cycle of losses only continued, and Saitama's head looked like someone had dunked it in a pot of boiling water. The bald hero's was quivering with indignation. A small snot bubble had formed inside Saitama's left nostril, and the bald hero's eyes looked like they were about to explode. All three heroes watching this were amazed that not only Saitama'd been beaten 80 times in a row, but how unbelievably furious he was. None of them had ever seen him this angry or even this expressive before. Alucard had to admire the bald hero's persistence. It must've been that persistence and willpower to keep going which allowed him to withstand the horrendous training he went through to become so strong.

"One more time. We'll do it one more time!"

Charanko held the Round 81 card, and Saitama prepared to get his first victory in this game.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" At last, the cycle of losses was ended by Saitama's scissors cutting Bang's paper. The bald hero gasped, and excitedly smiled, knowing that the first step to victory was finished. Now for the second step, Saitama reached for the hammer. But in such a rush and with such imprecision in his techniques, Saitama missed the handle. Saitama felt like his brain was about to explode, and his face clearly showed it.

On the other hand, Bang was as calm as ever, having had already gotten the helmet on his head. In fact, his mind was somewhere else entirely in that instant. "This brings back memories." Thoughts of his previous disciples filled his mind. Back when this dojo was flourishing, when the principles of martial arts were taught to a wide number of youth, and when he knew that the Fist of Flowing Water Crushing Rock would be passed on after his death. In order to bring back the liveliness that once captivated this dojo, he would need the power and beauty of youth. Bang opened his eyes again, but his calmness once again faded when he saw the utterly furious Saitama wielding the rubber hammer.

"Wait, he's going to-" With the hammer over his head, Saitama prepared to land the finishing blow. Alucard and Seras could sense the overwhelming fury radiating from Saitama, while Genos thought little of it. Alucard and Seras reached for Saitama to try and stop him from doing anything rash. "Saitama, don't-"

Fortunately for those two, Bang had already sensed this and swiftly jumped up, leaving the helmet floating behind. With a single swing from the rubber hammer, the helmet was crumpled up and smashed into the floor, where it was fragmented into dozens of tiny pieces, creating a very loud boom with burn marks on the floor. Alucard and Seras quickly realized that Bang had evaded the blow, but couldn't see where he was. That question was answered when they heard Bang talking above them, having dug his fingers into the ceiling. "With only a rubber hammer? What amazing power!"

"That's cheating!" yelled Saitama, "You can't dodge!"

"You're saying he should've just taken that?" Seras shoved Saitama, causing the hero to look at her angrily. Saitama expected Alucard to back him up, but when he looked at him, he was scowling. "Saitama, you allowed your anger to get the better of you in that instant, and did something rash," said Alucard.

The bald hero crossed his arms and scoffed. "No, I wouldn't say that-"

"Look at what you did to that helmet!" Seras held her hands out towards the area of impact to try and show Saitama the obvious evidence of his rage before him. "If that'd been Bang, you could have smashed his head into a bloody paste!" Unlike the two vampires, when hearing his master being attacked, Genos rushed to his defense. "That's ludicrous!" replied Genos, "The main point is that Master Saitama won, and this match would've settled the game!"

"Hold on, Genos." The bald hero was closing his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He stayed like this for a few seconds to allow his frustration to simmer down. Once he felt he'd calmed down, he took his hand off his nose, lifted his hands up, and heaved a big sigh. "They're right: I went too far there. I'm just not used to losing so many times like this." The bald hero turned around to Bang and said, "I'm sorry, old-" Saitama quickly stopped himself when he saw Alucard's face darken. "Bang."

The martial artist observed this entire scene play out. It appeared that Alucard and Seras were the mediators for Saitama, while Genos was more apt to blindly follow Saitama regardless of what he did. He was grateful to know that those two were on his side. "It is not a problem. Nevertheless, what Genos said is correct: I lost that round." The martial artist attempted to steer the conversation away from the game and more towards the purpose he wanted them to come here in the first place.

"So what was your opinion on all of this? Maybe now you realize that you've had a match for the first time in a long time, specifically you, Saitama. Before you knew it, this competition started to become enjoyable for you, and you got caught up in the thrill of it. If that weren't the case, the helmet wouldn't be a bunch of fragments spread all over the floor. Charanko, listen here as well!" The disciple obediently tuned his ears to his master's words. "Yes!"

Bang continued, "Martial arts appeal to people in this manner. It gives people the chance to explore, to adapt, and to develop new techniques, something that rarely is done in simple hand-to-hand combat."

Finally, Genos began to stop being so hard-headed against Bang's words and was introspecting them into his thoughts. "He has a point. Master did have to become serious, and I've never seen him become so serious before," thought the teenage cyborg.

"Is it becoming clear to you?" asked Bang, "That is the very essence of learning martial arts." Bang's disciple felt his heart swell; hearing his master speak such important words made quite the impact on him, so-much-so that his eyes were actually starting to well up. "Thanks, sensei!"

"Huh." Like Charanko, Seras was quite interested in what Bang was saying. "You know, I never really got to see martial arts like that when I was training. But now that I see how much power and experience it's given you, I'm interested to see how much your training has to offer. Aren't you, Saitama?"

Seras expected Saitama to be somewhat moved by what he'd heard and how he'd been outmatched by Bang, demonstrating that he was still lacking in some areas. Alucard was expecting this as well, but the bald hero didn't even blink at Bang's words. "Nope, not at all."

A comedic-style sweat bead fell down the faces of Bang, Seras and Alucard. "You're-you're not?" said Bang.

"Nah." Saitama sat back down and clapped his hands on his lap. "Now enough talk! Let's go one more round and finish this already!" Genos sat beside his master, and Seras joined the two at a slower speed. Alucard, on the other hand, was actually... disappointed. He was disappointed to know that Saitama was giving such little respect or consideration for Bang. To Alucard, everything that Bang was talking about seemed extremely important, and just knowing that Bang's reflexes surpassed Saitama's should have been a big wake-up call for the bald hero. Hell, Bang went through nearly as arduous of a training regiment as Saitama, but Saitama just didn't seem to care. The vampire forced back a sigh: it appeared that even Saitama, with all of his strength and willpower, still had some major flaws. But then again, who was he to judge?

With this silent revelation in mind, Alucard sat back down and listened to see who would play next and what to do without a helmet.

* * *

In City A, Walter and Hans had been rather inactive. Things continued to go rather slow, and the few monsters that there were to fight, they'd already dispatched effortlessly. Even the demon-level mammoth was relatively easy to dispatch for heroes as powerful as them.

While this might have been unusual for Walter, for Hans, this was what he expected. From childhood, he'd trained to become strong, to fight the battles his people couldn't fight. Because of this, and because of the countless hours of training he put forth, he'd attained this unbelievable power that surpassed even the toughest of werewolves before. He had been able to take care of any opponent with only minor difficulty at most, and so far, there had been no one stronger than himself.

Regardless of this, Hans would continue to do his duties as a hero and ensure he would be there to protect the people. However, he'd have to get used to the sedentary life, for beyond that, Hans felt there was no need to train or improve. He'd already attained all the strength he needed.

In the end, Hans still hadn't been able to lay back and enjoy a lofty life in his apartment, and was becoming restless. Walter was feeling the same way, and needed something more stimulating to do.

Additionally, their relationship hadn't really progressed too much due to their different personalities and the resentment Walter still had towards Hans for their past confrontations. As a result, their afternoons consisted mostly of silently watching television, roaming the city, giving autographs, having pictures taken, and quiet dinners. The conversations they did have were mostly one-sided, with Walter talking about their superior strength and the glory of the spotlight.

They needed to find some way to expel this pent-up energy, which was why Walter didn't object to Hans' idea of going to the Hero Association headquarters to do some exercise and sparring with one another.

The two monsters had just entered the headquarters and had gotten keys to their lockers, where they were putting away some of their personal belongings.

"This facility better have some high-quality equipment," Walter commented, "With all the money they receive from the public."

"I imagine it will be above-average," replied Hans, who had already taken off his trench coat, revealing only his white undershirt. "Perhaps we will see some other S-class heroes here."

"Yes." Walter slammed his locker and puffed his chest up. "If we do, I will make sure to establish myself as a force to be reckoned with. Then, I'll shoot up the ranks, and the crowd will look towards Walter C. Dornez!"

The werewolf rolled his eyes and closed his locker. That's all he ever cared about. The pair of monsters exited the locker rooms and took a right towards the gym. As they were walking in the hallway, they noticed a few other heroes walk past them, giving them shocked looks, which only served as helium for the big head Walter was getting.

Hans pushed open the door. Inside the gym, there were about 15-20 heroes working out. Some of the heroes were performing rather impressive feats for human standards. Hans took note of one man bench pressing more than 200 pounds, while another man was hanging upside down from a pull-up bar and doing hanging crunches.

A few of the heroes noticed them and resumed their training, while the other weaker heroes went up to the two S-class heroes to meet them.

"You're the two S-class heroes who defeated that giant mammoth!"

"You two are unbelievable!"

"Can you teach me some of your moves."

Before Walter could respond, Hans stepped in front of him and held his hands out. He was becoming sick and tired of all of this excessive praise and attention.

"If you wouldn't mind," said Hans in a hushed tone, "We would prefer to train alone."

The heroes didn't need to be told twice, and sped off to their training areas, whispering to themselves about what just happened.

"Hmmm." Walter looked around the gym, observing each of the weight machines and their maximum weight. After a minute of looking around, he went back to Hans and tapped him on the shoulder. "We won't be able to break a sweat with exercise equipment. We should leave."

Hans grabbed the side of Walter's face and gently rotated it. Walter was about to shove Hans and give him another one of his angry scowls, but he stopped himself when he saw that bbout 50 feet away, there was a glass door with a plastered sign that said: "S-Class training room. Class A or below not allowed."

"Well that is a delightful surprise," said Walter. Hans took his hand off of Walter's face, and the two heroes walked to the door and entered the other room.

Unlike the other gym, this training area was much larger. The design was rather simplistic, with plain gray wall color and fluorescent lights hanging several dozen feet above the heroes. But what took both the heroes by surprise was that there were several extremely large weights lying around. The size of these weights made it look as if somebody had decided to train giants and built all this equipment for them.

"How much do these weigh?" asked a baffled Walter. The vampire looked at the labels on the side, and his eyes widened: these weights were in tons.

"Hans, look at this!" The werewolf went to see what Walter was talking about, and was equally surprised to see such high weights. The weights appeared to go to the fraction of tons, such as .25 or .5 tons, but underneath the inscription, the weight was converted to pounds.

"I wonder..." The werewolf noticed that the weights were organized in descending order by weight, which was to be expected, but then what else...

Hans proceeded to walk down and count how many tons were in each weight. It was unbelievable how much these went to: 2 tons, 5 tons, 8 tons, 10 tons, and even 15 tons. But the highest weight was a whopping 20 tons. The werewolf couldn't help but gasp: not even he could lift that much weight. But if they were built, that means someone could...

"8! 9! 10!" Positioned on the left wall, Hans could hear the faint sounds of weights being lifted and muscles flexing. He looked to his left, and saw that an extremely well-built and dark-skinned man was doing bench presses. Hans squinted his eyes to see what weights he was lifting, and was shocked to see 8 ton weights on each side of the barbell.

With his interest piqued, Hans began to walk towards this unknown S-class hero. Once he was there, he stood about 10 feet away from the hero.

"18! 19! 20!" Once he reached 20 repetitions, he put the barbell back on the rack and lifted himself off the seat. "Phew! That got my blood pumping!" The man grabbed his towel to his right, but as he was reaching it, he stopped when he noticed someone standing 10 feet away from him. At first, he hadn't a clue who this might've been, but once he jogged his memory, his face brightened, and his lips relaxed to a normal smile.

"Hey there!" The man got up off his seat and walked up to greet this man. "I recognize you! You're the new S-class hero that was promoted like last week! Hans, wasn't it?" The werewolf gave only a small nod as a response. Now that he was standing right in front of him, he could see all the bulging and well-defined muscles that adorned his body. His only garment was a piece of black underwear, allowing Hans to see just how defined those muscles were, which made the hero slightly uncomfortable. Despite his large muscles and youthful appearance, he had no hair.

The man chuckled. "I'd heard rumors that you were a quiet one." This last comment couldn't help but get a sly smile from Hans. A week into the job, and already there were rumors surfacing about him.

"So glad to finally meet you!" The man flexed his hand out towards Hans, and the werewolf gladly shook it. But as soon as he did, he instantly felt very tight pressure. It didn't hurt, but if this were any regular person, their hand would have definitely been broken.

"The name's Superalloy Darkshine! I'm S-class Rank 13, and my hero name was given due to the dark shine my muscles give!" The hero flexed his muscles, causing them to bulge to even greater mass.

Hans decided to get out of his comfort zone and follow-up to create dialogue. "Yes, your strength is quite marvelous."

"Hans, where did you go off to?"

Superalloy Darkshine put his hand above his eyes to see where that voice came from. "So your friend is here too!"

Walter craned his head to the right and saw Hans standing besides an extremely muscular and tall man. "Hello! Walter C. Dornez at your service!" The vampire casually made his way towards the two S-class heroes. "My my, who are you?"

"This is Superalloy Darkshine," said Hans, "He's an S-class hero ranked 13."

"I see..." Walter had to admit, his muscles and physique were very imposing. Just what kind of strength did this man possess? "So what are you doing here?"

"Just doing some exercises." Superalloy Darkshine motioned to the bench press. "Right now, I'm bench pressing 16 tons."

The vampire nearly fainted. 16 tons? There was someone who could lift such ridiculous amount of weight? "That's insane."

"Don't believe me?" Quick to prove the hero wrong, Superalloy Darkshine seated himself back under the bar, grabbed it, and with a heavy breath, brought the bar to his chest. The hero took a peek behind him, and let out a chuckle when he saw Walter's gaping mouth.

"No way," muttered Walter, "You can't be this strong."

"Well after 15 years of lifting weights and pushing myself, I can." Superalloy Darkshine directed his attention to Hans. "Would you like to give it a try?" The muscular hero walked up to Hans and gave him a pat on the back, which moved the werewolf forward a few inches. "Come on, give it a try. I'll be spotting you if it's too much for you."

Walter quickly got over his shock and arrogantly crosses his arms. "Come on, Hans. Show us what you're made of."

The werewolf snorted. "So be it." Superalloy Darkshine eagerly clapped his hands. "That's the mojo! Show us how strong your muscles are!" Hans got himself under the bar and grabbed it, while Superalloy Darkshine took the center of the bar.

"Here we go. I'll help get the bar down for you." The muscular hero took the bar off its rack, while Hans let the bar sink.

The werewolf pushed the bar up. Well, he tried. But nothing was moving. Hans was trying to get this off his chest, but the weight was just too much, even for a monster as durable and strong as himself. He grunted, attempted to push through, but it was useless. The bar was beginning to press down on the hero's chest, causing him discomfort.

The other heroes began to notice the bar was shaking from the strain of this weight. Superalloy Darkshine held back a sigh. He should've known this was too much weight for a newly recruited S-class hero. "Alright I'll pull the bar-

"NO!" Superalloy Darkshine and Walter were stricken with silence when Hans screamed with such resolve, such intensity. Walter has never even heard Hans raise his voice like that. It was as if he barked at them, like a monstrous dog. The werewolf spoke in a more hushed but still dominant voice. "I can lift this!"

The werewolf began to shout, releasing all of the pent-up anger, frustration, and willpower in the form of this primal shout.

All his life, and all his time at Millennium, all he ever did was obey orders, being told what to do and what he couldn't do. Even as a child, his brother told him what his limitations were. Well he was sick of it. Right now, in the heat of this moment, he wasn't going to listen to what anyone told him he could do. He didn't matter how impossible it seemed or how much it might hurt afterwards: he was going to lift this fucking thing!

Suddenly, a silver aura appeared around the werewolf. His eyes glowed bright red, and his voice only grew louder. Soon, it appeared as if his entire body was on silver fire. Then, it inched upward. Once it did, Superalloy Darkshine's face lit up like a light bulb.

"YES! PUSH IT!" The hero eagerly cheered Hans on, pumping his fists up and down with exhilaration. While the white aura and glowing eyes may have been unusual, Darkshine merely interpreted it as his fighting spirit and thought relatively little of it. "PUSH THOSE MUSCLES!"

Hans lifted the bar up and completed one repetition. But he didn't stop there; with the adrenaline pumping through him and his determination still fueling him, he decided to keep on going: 2, 3, 4, 5, until on the 5th repetition did he feel his strength sap away from him. Superalloy Darkshine detected this, and helped lift the bar once Hans was unable to lift it up himself.

Once Superalloy Darkshine put the bar back on the rack, the werewolf's aura almost instantly flickered out, and his arms collapsed, hanging on his sides. The hero breathed rapidly and heavily, and Superalloy Darkshine quietly stood by to let the hero take a breather.

Once Hans regained his breath, the first thing he said was: "How can you do twenty of these?"

The muscular hero burst out in a fit of laughter and grabbed the hero by his shoulders. "Like I said, it took years of training! If you keep coming in here everyday and work those muscles, I guarantee you'll be able to do twenty of these too!"

"Who knows..."

"My my..." This time it was Walter's turn to give his comrade some praise. "I must say, even I never imagined you were hiding such impressive power." Now it was Hans turn to be surprised: surprised at the fact that Walter gave him a sincere compliment with no strings attached.

"Thank you." But bubbling inside of Hans was... something else. He didn't know why, but to know that there was such a large gap between himself and Superalloy Darkshine, to know that there was a human capable of lifting such large weights through only training... It felt like some sort of a wake-up call. If there were other heroes stronger than himself, that meant that there might be other monsters stronger than him. Monsters that could attack at any time. In a way, it frightened him, but it also... excited him.

As bizarre or confusing as that may have sounded, for the first time in a long time, Hans had the chance, and more importantly, a REASON to become stronger. He had another purpose in life beyond being a hero, the reignited purpose he once had but thought was completed. Truthfully, it felt as if a part of his soul had reawakened.

"Superalloy Darkshine, could you lower the weight from 16 tons to 10 tons?" The werewolf asked.

"Oh, ready to keep on pumping those muscles, are you?" Once again, the tall hero enthusiastically clapped his hands. "That's the attitude I like to see!" He then turned to face Walter. "You should try and find some weights to lift," urges Superalloy Darkshine, "If you need any assistance, I'm here to help."

"I suppose if Hans is getting some work in, then I should get some work in too." Walter went to another station and began to put some weights on.

Superalloy Darkshine was ecstatic. This gym had two new members, and they were ready to get physical!

* * *

 _Didn't forget about Walter and Hans! It looks like Hans finally figured out that there were people out there who are stronger than he is. Now I'll leave you to ponder and wait in anticipation for Chapter 18 of Monstrum Hominis!_


	18. It Came From the Depths

_Hey guys, Chapter 18 is up and ready! Now comes the much-anticipated Deep Sea King arc, so watch in earnest as you see just how things play out!_

* * *

All across the planet, there were numerous and vastly different organisms. Even after humanity had colonized most of the planet, and a majority of the land had been discovered and explored, there were always surprises that would come up. Perhaps some animal species that had evaded human notice, or some sort of geographic landmark, there were always new discoveries being made. But why were people so desperate to explore uncharted territory? Why did they attempt to vasten their horizons beyond their planet? It depended on the person, but for some people, it was to learn and understand that which they didn't know about. Because they never knew what might be hiding in the darkest corners of the world that would pop out and threaten them.

This was one of the reasons why the cold vastness of space was terrifying, but there was one thing that was even more unknown that space: the ocean. Even though the ocean was part of Earth and it brought many people joy, business, and entertainment, that part of the ocean was only 5% of it that had actually been explored by humanity. The remaining 95% of the ocean was shrouded in cold and darkness, home to god-knows-what kinds of life forms. But today, a small portion of that unknown part of the ocean had finally decided to make itself known to humanity. Rising from the deepest depths of the ocean, there was a massive army of humanoid creatures with aquatic features, such as gills, tentacles and fins. Standing at the top of that army was their king: a sadistic, power-hungry monster determined to make humanity his cattle. His invasion was finally ready.

* * *

The surface world was completely oblivious to this. In City-J, the people were continuing to go about their daily business. The traffic was light, and the people were enjoying it. But all of a sudden, the cars just stopped. The drivers were scratching their heads, wondering what had happened up ahead. Then came the booming. Next, the most disturbing part: the laughter. The deep, loud, arrogant laughter.

"HA-HA-HA!" The citizens were getting out of their cars, and their eyes took in a giant, bipedal octopus man with a yoga moving around cars and yelling with his deep voice. Their hearts pounded, and they proceeded to abandon their cars, running away from this unknown monster to let a hero deal with it.

"HUMANS! IF YOU VALUE YOUR CITY AND YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE LIVES, TAKE HEED AND LISTEN TO MY WORDS! I HAVE COME TO GIVE YOU A MESSAGE FROM THE KING OF THE SEAFOLK!" The monster's tentacles flailed wildly in the air, and it continued to advance forward.

"YOU SHALL SURRENDER YOUR CITY TO THE SEAFOLK, AND ONCE THIS IS DONE, YOU WILL SERVE ONLY AS NOURISHMENT FOR US!" The Messenger of the Seafolk looked down and noticed that there was a bald man in a white cape who wasn't running away, but actually walking towards him. As soon as he saw this, he bent down and pointed right at this man's head. "My my! What a head you've got there! You wouldn't happen to be related to an octopus by any chance?"

The sea monster cackled with delight, unaware that he had just signed his own death warrant. With a single punch, the messenger of the Seafolk had his entire upper body blown apart. His tentacles were chopped up into little pieces, and a huge burst of blue blood spurted out of the monster's body. The only parts of him that had remained intact were his legs and the lower part of his spine.

Saitama furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at the corpse of the Seafolk messenger. "You're one to talk."

* * *

Four days had passed since they all visited Bang's dojo. Alucard had decided to go on his own a few more times, both to socialize and to get some more training in. Well, he was training by having Bang completely annihilate him in sparring matches. When asked why Alucard wanted to do this, he replied that it was only through such difficult and overwhelming training against a stronger opponent could he become stronger. Seras had also decided to tag along once as well so she could see exactly how big the gap between Bang and her master was, and boy-o-boy, the gap was big. She'd also managed to get some training with Bang in, even doing a two-on-one against Bang, but even then, the martial artist made easy work of them with his superior skills and reflexes. Nevertheless, it was a good learning experience for Seras, and it taught her just how effective the martial arts could be in a fight like that.

On the rooftop of the Royal Point apartment, Genos and Seras were in the middle of duking it out in a sparring match. Surveying this sparring match was none other than Alucard. Due to the spaciousness of the roof and the fact that nobody else was with them at the moment, this seemed like the ideal area to do some training. However, they had agreed that Genos wouldn't use his incineration cannons, and the training would strictly be limited to hand-to-hand combat. This exercise was mostly for the two disciples to get a better understanding of the other's fighting styles, perhaps even learn enough to work together. It had been going on for about an hour now, although they hadn't been really fighting seriously for the first half, mostly using that time to get a better idea of how they fought in hand-to-hand combat. This had been done on the orders of both Alucard and Saitama, for the two masters felt that this could be a better opportunity to improve their coordination and cooperation together. They'd talked it over, and thought that such an exercise was the best way to accomplish that. Besides, with so many similarities in their past and their willpower, who knows what they could accomplish as a unit.

Genos struck Seras with a right uppercut, but the vampire evaded the dodge, countering with a spinning kick. Genos performed a backflip to avoid the blow, but Seras followed up her attack, spinning multiple times in the air to gain momentum and punching Genos in the chest. The cyborg blocked her punch with his elbows and landed back on the ground. He grunted and jumped up, where the two heroes proceeded to exchange several midair punches. After about three seconds of these midair punches, Genos struck with a right jab, but this time, instead of dodging, Seras captured his hand and redirected it so it would go slightly more to his right, forcing him to open up his chest. The cyborg was taken aback by this, and Seras used this opening to land a powerful right side kick on Genos' chest. This time, he was unable to block it, and was sent downward for a second time. But just before the cyborg landed on the ground, the vampire increased her speed through multiple mid-air front flips, and grabbed his body, using the momentum to force him down to the ground, where she then immobilized him by putting her body weight on him and wrapping her arm around his neck.

"Very nice, policegirl!" The King of Vampires applauded his servant and walked in front of the two teenagers. "I see that you took a lesson from Bang and redirected his punch, giving you the opening you needed to end the match."

"Yes, master!" Seras felt Genos squirming underneath her, and immediately released him from her grip. Genos bared his teeth, but managed to simmer down his temper enough and reduced his snarl to a slight frown.

"Now you see that there are lessons that even Saitama has not learned yet," Alucard told Genos. The cyborg's lips were sealed.

Seras patted Genos on the back as a friendly gesture. "That's enough for now. How about we go inside and relax?" The cyborg gave the female vampire a short look and a nod of his head. "Very well."

The three S-class heroes walked together back to the door. When they returned to their apartment, Saitama was waiting for them, having had already arrived from City J about 45 minutes ago. In his hands was his Nintendo, and his avatar was heading to Goldenrod City to fight the third gym leader. "Oh, master! You're back!"

Saitama momentarily looked up and gave the three heroes a small nod before going back to his game. "Hey guys. So how was sparring, Genos? Seras?"

"It went well," replied Alucard, "Seras managed to get a surprise blow on Genos and immobilize him with a hold."

"Cool, cool."

Genos quickly changed the subject to something he'd been meaning to tell Saitama since this morning. "Master, I looked at the Hero Association website and found out you moved up from C-class Rank 5 to Rank 2 after you defeated Speed-o'-Sound Sonic. That means you are only one rank away from being eligible to enter Class B."

Saitama thought relatively little of this. "Cool. A promotion sounds good to me." Out of nowhere, three cellphones rang simultaneously, which each of the phones belonging to the three S-class heroes.

"Excuse me, Master." All three heroes answered their phones and walked away from each other so the voices of the other heroes wouldn't drown out the voice on the phone.

"A threat? City J?" questioned Genos.

"So there are no other competent heroes in the area?" asked Alucard, "You need us three to go deal with this threat?"

"What busy guys they are," commented Saitama. The bald hero picked up the television remote and changed the channel. Once the heroes hung up the phone, they all crowded around Saitama to inform them of what they'd just been assigned. "There is a rising threat in City J," explained Genos.

Seras chimed in, "Apparently, there are aquatic monsters who call themselves the "Seafolk" that have risen to invade City J and the rest of the world."

"I think that's what's on the channel right now." Alucard pointed to the television, where a young female reporter was in the middle of updating the public of the growing situation. "We're bringing you live to the invasion in City J. At the moment, the A-class hero, Stinger, is combating the sea creatures," The camera changed to show the young hero surrounded by the monsters, rather bruised and breathing heavily.

"A hero facing these monsters on his own, on the verge of defeat but still choosing to fight..." As with other heroes, Alucard openly expressed his admiration for the bravery being shown by Stinger.

"Several heroes have been called to deal with the situation," The news reporter continued, "but people can't help but wonder whether it will be enough. Back to you, Michael."

The scene changed back to the newsroom, and the anchorman gave a brief run-down of everything that had been going on. Saitama quickly turned off the TV and stood up. "Then I guess we don't have any time to lose."

* * *

The A-class hero was running on fumes. His face had several bruises on it, his right eye shut from pain. Blood was running down his nose and his forehead, and his entire body was aching. Despite his injuries, Stinger had done rather well, eliminating several of the Seafolk before they could go further inland, but now his stamina was reaching its limit, and his strength was being sapped away. After spectators began to realize this and had been informed of the disaster level of these Seafolk, all of them, including the news teams, had fled the scene, leaving Stinger all alone, surrounded by the remaining Seafolk.

"You will suffer for the deaths of our brethren," assured a crustacean Seafolk.

"Now that your precious fans have abandoned you, they will at the very least not see your gruesome demise," another tentacled monster continued.

While being surrounded by these monsters and being rather injured would have scared most people, Stinger was not too worried about his odds. He still had more than enough fight in him. "I gotta say, you guys got spunk. My bamboo shoot is almost completely peeled: I've rarely fought opponents who can push my bamboo shoot so far. But I'm afraid it's time to end this.

"Actually, now that I don't have an audience," The hero jumped and began spinning his bamboo shoot multiple times until it looked like a giant helicopter blade, "I can do this!"

One of the Seafolk lashed its tentacle out at Stinger, but the hero thrusted his weapon forward, ripping apart the tentacle. "Gigantic Drill Stinger: Quadruple Thrust!" Using one of his most powerful moves, Stinger jabbed his bamboo shoot through all the monsters, killing them in the process.

The battle had come to its dramatic end, and Stinger, despite only being one A-class hero against ten Tiger-level monsters, had prevailed. A feeling of triumph and a bit of overconfidence swelled his heart, and he raised his weapon in the air.

"I defeated them! This must have been a God-level threat, and I defeated them!" arrogantly boasted Stinger. But the hero was about to learn two painful lessons: one, never let your guard down, and two, never overestimate your abilities.

"This will shoot me up to Class S for su-" All the breath was sucked out of the hero by a large fist lodged in his chest. What the A-class hero failed to realize was that the big kahuna had just arrived. The King of the depths, a monster of ruthlessness and fear, the Deep Sea King had finally come to claim the surface world as his. Despite being born in the ocean, he had a surprisingly humanoid form. Adorning him was a crown and a cape befitting a King such as himself.

"When I come across something as annoying at this," the monster spoke, his deep voice only serving to further build up his terrifying appearance, "Watching it die is a pleasure."

* * *

The four heroes had already begun their venture to City J. The sky was covered in clouds, and one could tell that a storm was brewing in fear for what had arrived.

"Are we close," Saitama asked Genos.

"Yes, we are nearly there. However, I cannot find anything on my sensors. I will go on ahead to properly scout the area."

"I'll go with you," said Seras, "You might need the help."

"Good." Saitama was perfectly fine with this. Genos nodded and increased his speed, forcing Seras to speed up as well, leaving Alucard and Saitama alone together.

While Seras and Genos were sprinting as a pair, Seras decided to go over a rudimentary plan before they engaged the mysterious beings. "Where do you think we should look first?"

"The most obvious place to start would be at the coastline. If Stinger managed to defeat the Seafolk, then we would serve no purpose here. But if he was overpowered, which given his weakened state on television, is likely, then the better place to start our search would be a few miles inland from the coastline."

"Good strategy there," Seras complimented. Genos only gave her a small nod and looked forward, leaving silence to fall the two teenagers.

About thirty seconds passed, when the two heroes noticed a faint flash in the distance.

"I'm guessing that will be the first place to search now," confirmed the teenage vampire.

"Correct." With great haste, these two S-class heroes boosted forward to deal with whatever was happening.

* * *

Things were not looking good for the heroes. After Stinger was defeated, Deep Sea King searched the city and managed to find another human observing him from afar. The monster made quick work of this man, who revealed himself to be an A-class hero called Lightning Max, and defeated him with only two blows. But then, out of nowhere, a muscular man with a prison outfit and a sweater over it came and saved the hero. In that man's arms was actually the same hero he'd annihilated before. Accompanying the well-built man was another, leaner man with the same prison outfit. That man was actually Speed-o'-Sound Sonic, who had managed to escape the prison he'd been put in after being defeated by Saitama a second time.

"Oh? Given that you're out here and not quivering in terror in your homes or a shelter, I'm assuming you're here to stop me?" said the Deep Sea King, "My fins are quivering with anticipation.

The man stared at the monster and was immediately impressed by what he saw. "I can feel the overwhelming power erupting from him. If you don't mind Sonic, I'll be handling this one myself."

The muscular man accusingly pointed at Deep Sea King. "So you are the one who did this to these two, two of the boys I had my eyes on. Class A, Rank 11: Sweet Stinger. Class A, Rank 20: Lightning Max."

He extended his leg out and waved his arm around in a extravagant manner until he directed his hand toward himself. "I am Puri-Puri Prisoner, the S-class hero who escaped from prison for the sole purpose of defeating you! I may rank lowest in my class after several of the new recruits surpassed me, but I'm still Class S!" The hero prepared for battle, allowing his muscles to beef up. "I'll start at half-power to gauge your power." The S-class hero yelled as the power exploded from his body, although the explosion was a bit too much: the sweater he was wearing became tatters. The prisoner felt his heart stop beating when he saw the tatters falling down around him. His body quickly began to tremble with rage.

"NOOO!" screamed the S-class hero, "THAT WAS THE HAND-KNIT SWEATER MY BOYFRIEND MADE, AND IT'S RUINED! YOU! YOU DID THIS! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, BASTARD!"

The Deep Sea King was observing this absent-minded and rage-driven hero and felt his mouth salivate. "This is quite the mouth-watering dish. Let me sink my teeth into it!"

The monster went on the offensive and struck Puri-Puri Prisoner square in the nose with his elbow. Deep Sea King sadistically smirked when he saw blood dripping down the hero's nose, but was unprepared for the right slug across his cheek. Puri-Puri Prisoner scowled and landed a right uppercut on Deep Sea King's chest, sending him back a few meters.

Spectating this battle, Sonic was shocked by the extreme lack of power and speed being shown thus far. "So this is what a battle between a Class S hero and a Demon-level monster looks like. What a pathetic sight: neither of these two could hold a candle to me."

Deep Sea Kong's jaw had been knocked out of place, but the monster seemed relatively unfazed. "I felt that, just a little," mocked Deep Sea King, his jaw somehow positioning itself back into place.

"I felt that too," replied Puri-Puri Prisoner, blowing blood out of his nostril, "Just a little."

Sonic wasn't fooled by the hero's boast. "He may be acting like a tough guy, but Puri-Puri Prisoner took far more damage than Deep Sea King," thought the ninja.

Correctly seeing through Puri-Puri Prisoner's charade, the hero was going over what to do. "This monster is strong. If I don't put my guard up, he could knock me out, leaving Stinger and Lightning Max defenseless. It looks like I have no choice-"

Puri-Puri Prisoner widened his stance and loosened his arms. "But to go all-out."

"Ready?!" A brilliant array of colors enveloped Puri-Puri Prisoner, and the hero quickly became surrounded in a bright light. As he was removing the last restraints on his power, his muscles swelled up to their maximum size, tearing apart his remaining clothing. When the light around the hero faded, Puri-Puri Prisoner jumped into the sky, a bright pair of wings on his back to show him off as an actual angel.

To Sonic, Puri-Puri Prisoner was far from an angel. "What a ridiculous transformation," thought Sonic while the hero began performing several poses to Deep Sea King, "He's completely naked now. This has become too nauseating for me: I'm out of here."

Likewise, Deep Sea King was unpleasant with what he was seeing, his smile faded. "What an unsavory sight."

"Now you will bear witness to the true power of Puri-Puri Prisoner's Angel Style!"

The hero leaped up above Deep Sea King and prepared to unleash one of his special moves. The monster realized this and put his elbows up in defense.

"Angel Rush!" Puri-Puri Prisoner threw a rapid barrage of his most powerful punches. "GRAHHHH!" The hero yelled as he attempted to obliterate his opponent. The force of his punches were so fast and so strong that steam began to form around the two fighters.

* * *

Standing on top of a building, the teenage cyborg's sensors picked up on something in the distance. "Seras, I'm picking up elevated energy levels nearby." The female vampire, who was standing on the edge of the roof and using her third vampiric eye to search the streets, heard Genos and rushed to his side. "Where?"

Genos pointed to a location several blocks away, while he grabbed his flip-phone with his other hand to contact Saitama. "We found them. I'll let Master know where they are." It appeared that Saitama would not be getting first pickings: there was no signal. "Damn it," said Genos, "I'm unable to contact Master Saitama."

Seras was unworried about this and prepared to jump to the next building. "It can't be helped. Let's go before any more heroes might be defeated."

* * *

After a few seconds, Puri-Puri Prisoner stopped his assault and maneuvered backward. It had been a while since he'd used so much power, and his labored breathing proved it. He nervously waited for the smoke to clear, and when it did, he felt his blood run cold when he saw Deep Sea King practically uninjured, with only his elbows scratched and steam coming off of them.

Deep Sea King knew the outcome of this battle had been decided. "That actually hurt... just a little," said the aquatic beast before landing a devastating blow to Puri-Puri Prisoner's stomach. He followed up with a left jab to the hero's right chest area, then a powerful uppercut which disoriented Puri-Puri Prisoner. As the hero floated in the air, out of power and knocked out of his senses, the Deep Sea King imparted some last words of advice to his opponent. "Hear me," said the monster, "The sole purpose of a combination attack is to eliminate your opponent. Each separate attack must be delivered with intent to kill. LIKE THIS!" Deep Sea King unleashed multiple underhand punches which completely overwhelmed Puri-Puri Prisoner. Then, with a final strike, Deep Sea King roundhouse kicked Puri-Puri Prisoner up into a nearby building, rendering the hero unconscious.

Speed-o'-Sound Sonic couldn't help but be slightly surprised at how this turned out. It looks like this monster had some decent fighting knowledge. Deep Sea King spoke to the only remaining person in front of him. "Isn't this an amusing endeavor?"

With the display of speed and power this monster had displayed, Sonic knew that this was no ordinary opponent. "Alright, just who in the hell are you?"

The monster raised his arms up and gave a proper introduction. "I am the Deep Sea King, ruler of the clan of the Seafolk and usurper of the land above." Deep Sea King opened his eyes and gave Sonic a death stare. "Do you have the audacity to defy me as well, human?"

The ninja sneered at Deep Sea King's arrogance. "Do you truly believe you have the strength it takes to conquer the entire surface world? How pathetically foolish."

"Oh? Then I suppose I'll have to kill you."

"Hey, that's my line. It's quite unfortunate: if only you'd treated me with the respect I deserve, I might have let you live. I may not be a hero, but I still won't allow you to walk away. Your head will be mine!" A light precipitation fell on City J, and the Deep Sea King felt his entire body loosen up as the drops of water streamed down his body. "Gentle rainfall. How pleasant." Deep Sea King rushed forward and punched Sonic, but the ninja avoided the attack, with the monster only smashing the ground.

"Too slow!" Sonic began performing multiple front flips and kicked Deep Sea King in the face, stunning the monster. "Wind Blade Kick!" The ninja cockily smiled and derided his opponent. "Pitiful! Your moves are like pages in your miserably short book, and I can read them with ease!" But his smile disappeared when he saw some bizarre thing with fanged teeth attempt to bite him. Sonic managed to avoid its teeth, but not before it tore off the middle portion of his prison suit covering his stomach.

"Are you sure of that?" The thing that attacked Sonic actually came from the Deep Sea King's mouth, as if it was a large tongue. "Once it bites, my moray eel never loosens its grip until its prey squeals!" The moray eel attempted to attack Sonic, but unfortunately for it, Sonic had already rushed towards Deep Sea King and clamped his jaw shut, severing the moray eel from Deep Sea King and effectively killing it. "Let me make this perfectly clear, because you're too stupid to realize: there's no way in hell I'd ever lose to you!" The aquatic beast attempted to grab Sonic, but the ninja dodged. He then followed up with several punches, but not a single one connected. For Sonic, this was child's play. "It's useless," said the confident ninja while simultaneously dodging Deep Sea King's punches, "You may have power, but your speed is well below what it takes to match up to me. Thank you, Deep Sea King!" Speed-o'-Sound Sonic leaped up and prepared to counterattack, "Fighting someone like you just goes to show how much progress I've made in my quest to defeat Saitama!" He bombarded Deep Sea King with several strikes, which unfortunately appeared to do little damage, and jumped up to a building. "My moves are the fastest and the strongest!"

Even though Sonic clearly was superior, Deep Sea King didn't look the slightest bit worried and actually craned his head backward to look at Sonic with a disturbing smile.

The ninja misinterpreted this as insanity. "Has your mind finally slipped away?" This mistake was immediately corrected when Deep Sea King lunged up to punch Sonic. Although he was able to dodge the blow, he noticed something had changed. "He's faster! What in the world's going on?"

Sonic looked up but couldn't see the monster anywhere. "Where did he go?" His question was answered when he heard loud footsteps behind him. Sonic couldn't believe what he was seeing: Deep Sea King was almost twice as large as he was before. "He's huge!"

"The air on the surface world shriveled me up a little," explained Deep Sea King, his voice now even deeper and more menacing than before, "But with this rain, I feel like myself again! Your attacks are like tiny tickles!"

Deep Sea King slammed his fist down, being narrowly avoided by Sonic. The ninja kicked Deep Sea King in the face, but the monster didn't even flinch. Sonic propelled himself back, but was shocked when he saw Deep Sea King catching up to him with his sharp claws and sharp teeth ready to tear him to shreds. "My attacks aren't having any effect on him," said Sonic, feeling a small pit growing in his stomach. He found himself about to crash into a window, but he chose to break through the glass. Inside there were several desks and computers, and Sonic pushed them aside as he continued to run. Deep Sea King destroyed everything inside while chasing Sonic. Once Sonic made it through the building, the monster burst through in a dramatic fashion.

"I need to retreat for now and find a weapon to defeat him with." Sonic ran across many more buildings and bounded up to another building, but his ascent was stopped by the Deep Sea Kong's giant hand.

"Looks like I finally caught you. Let's see what your bones scraping together sounds like!" He increased the pressure of his grip and smiled when he heard the deep crunch of Sonic's bones.

"Crack crack, snap snap." Deep Sea King hummed in confusion when he heard Sonic's voice above him. He opened his palm and found only the prison clothes. Even though Sonic was completely naked for the world to see, he remained calm and composed. "Don't go anywhere: the next time we meet, it will be your demise." Sonic vanished, ending the battle. Deep Sea King was unconcerned with chasing him down, despite the disrespect Sonic had given him.

"The small-fry can retreat. Once I conquer the surface world, I'll take my time to find and dispose of him properly."

Speed-o'-Sound Sonic was on his way back to his run-down apartment to get his clothing and katana back, but while he was jumping through the street, his eyes caught a young man with blonde hair walking alongside a familiar face and stopped in front of both of them.

"Who might you be?" inquired Genos. Seras let out a small gasp of shock: one, because she never imagined she'd come across Sonic now of all times, and the more obvious reason: because he was naked. Like with Saitama, Seras felt the heat rise to her cheeks, but quickly pushed those embarrassed emotions down. "That's Sonic, the one that Saitama, Master and I ran into before."

Once this clicked, Genos narrowed his eyes at Sonic. "You mean you're the one that has been constantly pestering Saitama."

Sonic brushed off the cyborg's accusations. "I don't have to explain myself to you, whoever you might be."

"Then I suppose you won't explain why you're completely naked?" said Seras.

The ninja narrowed his eyes, perturbed by the girl's brash attitude towards someone as strong as him. "I was just in a fight with the Deep Sea King; that's all you need to know," replied Sonic, refusing to give her the satisfaction of any more details.

"Deep Sea King?" Genos quickly put the pieces together. "So the leader of the Seafolk has arrived?"

"Yes. I'm not sure why you two are here in the first place, but my advice for you two is to get away now." Sonic had seen a glimpse of Seras' abilities, and compared to the Deep Sea King in his hydrated form, she was behind. "Seras, you might be able to get a few lucky blows, but in the end, he's too much for you, though I don't know if I can stay the same for your friend. Nevertheless, I'm quite sure neither of you can stand up to him, even together."

"We were called in by the Hero Association to deal with this threat," explained Seras, "And there's no way either of us is just going to run away while that monster kills innocent people."

Sonic scoffed when he heard this: so Seras and her friend were heroes. How sad. But he should've expected as much from lackeys of Saitama. "You and the rest of your hero buddies could all jump that monster at once, and you'd still be obliterated." Sonic ran forward and quickly spoke in the ears of the two teenage heroes. "You heroes go around playing make-believe and pretend to fight for justice, but in the face of true, overwhelming power, not a single one of you stands a chance." With those final insulting words, Sonic left the heroes alone.

Genos looked behind him and bared his teeth. "What an utterly despicable human. I will not allow him to escape."

Seras snapped in front of Genos to get his attention, for she knew that he'd likely do something reckless. "Genos, he isn't our problem right now. I've seen Sonic fight: he's a powerful opponent. If the Deep Sea King he talked about was able to overwhelm him, then we have to be at our best and find him before he finds any other humans."

Genos knew that Seras was right, and turned on his sensors to track nearby energy levels. His eyes glowed orange as his internal sensors turned on. "I sense many energy levels nearby. There are so many huddled together." Genos gasped when the realization hit him. "The evacuation shelter!"

Seras let out an even larger gasp and bent her knees forward. "We don't have a second to lose!" Genos nodded, and the two heroes went off in a full-sprint towards the evacuation shelter. Hopefully, nothing big would happen before they got there.

* * *

While Genos and Seras had their own ways of tracking the activity, Alucard and Saitama were unfortunately having a tougher time navigating through the city, and at the moment were completely lost. Alucard was quite frustrated, while Saitama didn't seem to care at all. "We should have come better prepared," said Alucard, "Not just wandering around like mindless fools."

But as they continued to wander about, they were suddenly greeted with a man on a bicycle stopped in the middle of the road. It was Mumen Rider, attempting to handle the mysterious beings and was on his way right now. Even though he'd been persuaded by other C-class heroes to evacuate the city since the threat was way out of any of their league, Mumen Rider refused to ignore the cries of help from the people and ventured into the city anyway. However, being the pure soul he was who abided by all laws and justice, he was waiting for a red light, an honorable but ultimately ridiculous decision to most rational people. Mumen Rider heard the sounds of shoes splashing in the rain, and turned to see Saitama and Alucard staring at him. "Hold on, I know you two. You're the C-class Rank 2 hero, and you're the S-class Rank 18 hero."

"That's right," said Alucard, "And who're you? What are you doing in such a hurry?"

"I'm Mumen Rider, Class C, Rank 1, and I'm on my way to fight the Seafolk."

"Wait, what?" Alucard was aware of the ranking system, and based on everything he understood, a Class C hero fighting Tiger level monsters would result in the hero's death. So then what was the explanation for Mumen Rider going on his way to fight them? "You've been made aware of the disaster level of this threat, right?

"I know: Disaster Level Tiger."

"A hero of your strength would surely be killed. So what compels you to go on and fight?"

Mumen Rider slashed his hand through the air and pursed his lips together. "It doesn't matter what level of threat I'm dealing with! I will never overlook any crime! I will fight till my last breath!"

Alucard felt his demonic heart do another flip. Alucard's luck had higher than it'd ever been, and now it had led him to another man among dogs. Here was another human who was ready to jump into the depths of hell without batting an eye, who would put everything on the line to eliminate evil. Even if he didn't have the strength Saitama had, Alucard could tell his will burned just as brightly as his. Alucard's lips curved upwards into a wide smile that covered his entire face, and Alucard's eyes were like a warm hearth giving off gentle and soothing heat. ""What a pleasant treat to meet your acquaintance."

"So do you have any idea where these sea monsters are?" asked Saitama.

"I do. I was actually on my way to their location. You guys can follow me so you don't keep on wandering around aimlessly." Mumen Rider motioned Saitama to his bike. "Saitama, you can take the place here on my bike. Unfortunately Alucard, I don't have any room for you."

Alucard dismissively put his hand in the air. "No worries. I'll follow behind your lead." Saitama didn't want to be rude and took his place on the bike by standing on the back wheel and putting his hands on Mumen Rider's shoulders for support. With great haste, Mumen Rider resumed biking and made his way toward where he presumed the seafolk were, unaware of the greater danger they brought and how deadly it was about to become.

* * *

A few miles away in the shelter, things were beginning to worsen. The citizens inside were becoming restless, unsure of what was going to come and how much longer they would be forced to stay in here. None of them really knew if Stinger had been able to handle all of the Seafolk, since there was no way to keep the people updated on the situation. Many of them were silently conversing, talking about the chances of Stinger's victory and hoping more heroes would be on the way. A young child with short and bushy yellow hair asked his father, "Daddy, do you think the scary sea monsters are still out there?"

In his heart, the father had no real way of knowing this, but knew he couldn't afford to instill his son with fear, so he did his best to put his son's mind at ease. "I don't think they are. Anyway, as long as we're staying in this shelter, it'll give us enough protection to keep away the sea monsters." He then decided to throw in an even more hopelessly optimistic statement: "And hey, with all of us here together, I'm pretty sure we'd be able to handle at least one of the monsters." Standing a few feet away, a C-class hero named All-Back Man heard this man's words and scowled. Since he was a C-class hero, there wasn't anything he could do, which was why he'd evacuated along with the rest of the populace to this shelter, but he still hated it. He'd joined the Hero Association to help the people, and here he was, hiding like a coward. It was disgraceful. All he could do was hope that none of the monsters would find this shelter.

His hopes were sadly misplaced: perched on-high from an apartment building, the Deep Sea King's mouth was salivating from the humans he was sensing close-by. "I can sense them: so many humans in one place, gathered like cattle." The monster's gargantuan teeth showed as his smile opened up: they were all his for the taking! Deep Sea King jumped up and barreled through the top of the shelter. The people inside felt their hearts stop when they saw this absolutely terrifying monster with yellow eyes, dagger-sized teeth, and wicked smile looking down upon them. Deep Sea King reveled at the sight of all these pathetic humans cowering in terror at him. He could sense the collective and overwhelming aura of fear coming off of them, and knew this would be too easy. "Why what a palatable sight! Greetings, and farewell!"

"Please, wait!" A hand shot up in the air, the hand which belonged to All-Back Man, who barely had the courage to even make his attention known to Deep Sea King. "You don't have to fight us, we surrender!" As he was speaking, his face began to drench in sweat, "I can speak for everyone here when I say we will give in to any demands you might have! We can work this out!" While he was trying to negotiate with Deep Sea King, his thoughts were filled with nothing but shame and fear. "Look at me: I'm no hero." All Back-Man raised both his hands in submissiveness. "I'm just a failure."

"Oh? Surrender, you say? Whether you surrender or not will not change your fates: you will all die at my hands! As for my demands, I think softer screams would do nice so I can hear the sounds of your flesh and bones being crushed into paste!"

All Back-Man knew there was barely anything left for him to do. "I know I can't do much, but if I can buy time for some A-class or S-class heroes to come, that might be enough to save these people! I mean, who am I kidding? I can't put a scratch on this thing!" The laughs of sadism from Deep Sea King only served to intensify the hopelessness building inside All Back-Man's heart. Or more specifically, in his bladder. The hero gasped when he felt a warm liquid trailing down his pants. "Jesus Christ, I just pissed myself! What kind of hero pisses himself? In the end, I'm just a pathetic weakling who doesn't even have the power to keep his urine in his body."

But then, two men jumped in front of All Back-Man. One of them was a muscular young man with an afro and a white skin tight shirt, while the other had boxing gloves and sunglasses. These were two heroes known Bunbunman, a C-class Rank 331 hero, and Jet Nice Guy, a B-class Rank 50 hero. All Back-Man felt a little bit of the hopelessness inside him fade. "Heroes? More heroes besides me?"

A third hero had arrived: walking in front of the other three heroes was the A-class hero known as Sneck who'd decided to evacuate with everyone else due to the threat level, but knew that he could no longer hide. "I may be the lowest ranking A-class hero at 38, but I'm still a Class-A hero!" Bunbunman and Jet Nice Guy couldn't contain their glee and smiled: with an A-class hero on their side, this fight would be theirs. Sneck took his signature fighting stance and flexed both his hands outwards. "Together, we can defeat him!"

Suddenly, a fire began to rise up inside of All Back-Man, and he felt his fear fade away. "I'll fight alongside you guys! I'm a hero too! All Back-Man is ready to stand and fight!" The crowd also began to feel their fear fade away: they all had very high hopes in heroes and knew of the many monsters that the heroes and the Hero Association had eliminated. "Heroes are here to protect us!"

"With this many heroes, they can kill that monster!"

"Go kick that fish's ass!"

As the three heroes stared down Deep Sea King, Jet Nice Guy managed to continue smiling and said, "Man, I never thought I'd fight alongside a Class A hero. I'm sure glad you decided to jump in."

"Happy to help," replied Sneck, maintaining his serious demeanor. From behind the three heroes, All Back-Man was going over their chances. "Two Class C heroes, one Class B hero, and a Class A hero? Yes!" The C-class hero clenched his fists and furrowed his brows. "We can win this!"

These four heroes had initially abandoned any ideas of fighting such formidable monsters. In their eyes, they were simply too weak. But now, they had no choice but to step up to the plate and do their jobs as heroes. With each of them backing the others up, they had strength in numbers, and in this case, that strength was better than no strength at all. So even as they were staring down a monster that they wouldn't think twice about fighting by themselves, the four heroes clung onto the hope of their combined strength and prepared to fight together.

* * *

Mumen Rider, Saitama and Alucard were traveling together through the pounding rain and the desolate city, although Alucard had to slow down for Mumen Rider, and they still hadn't come across any monsters. "Are you sure this is the way to the monsters?" asked Saitama.

"I'm pretty sure," replied Mumen Rider, "I saw the residents of City J fleeing from this direction, meaning that the monsters would be in that direction as well."

While the heroes were silently traversing through the city, a blur of a form flew past the three heroes. While Mumen Rider hadn't noticed this bizarreness, Saitama and Alucard's senses were sharp enough to pick up on this. In the brief interval that thing had been there, both heroes were able to see that it was some sort of naked man with scars all over his body. "Did you see that?" said Saitama.

Mumen Rider gave Saitama a confused look, while Alucard nodded in agreement. "Yes, it was some sort of naked man."

"Do you think he could've been taking a bath when he got the orders to evacuate?" Saitama hopped off the bike and ran in the naked man's direction, with Alucard following suit. "You go on without me," said Saitama. But before Alucard left, he gave one last look at Mumen Rider and solemnly said, "If you come across the monsters before we do, promise me you will fight until your last breath." For a second, Mumen Rider was befuddled by Alucard's statement, but picked up on the subtle praise that the S-class hero was giving him. It was as if Alucard already knew in his heart that Mumen Rider would do this, but he just wanted that final confirmation. The C-class hero tightened his lips and gave Alucard the thumbs-up. "I promise." The vampire smiled and let the hero be. Only a few seconds later, and Mumen Rider felt his phone vibrating. He unlocked his phone and answered with, "Mumen Rider here."

On the other side of the line was a staff member from the Hero Association. "The Hero Association has been informed that you're on your way to fight the Seafolk."

"That's correct," replied Mumen Rider, "I'm on my way there now."

"One of the seafolk is attacking the shelter right now."

The C-class hero gasped. "You said the shelter? Damn it, I've been going the wrong way!" Without waiting to end the conversation, Mumen Rider turned his bike around and began peddling to the shelter, unaware that he'd dropped his phone.

Saitama and Alucard were looking around the block, trying to find any sign of the man they'd spotted, but couldn't pick up on anything. "It's no use," said Alucard, "Whoever that man was, he already left. We should try and meet up with Mumen Rider. He couldn't have gotten far." Suddenly, Alucard sensed his phone was ringing. He took it out of his pocket and saw that it was the Hero Association. "It's the Hero Association," said Alucard, "They must be sending us updates on the monsters."

"Hello?"

A bearded worker of the Hero Association spoke to the S-class hero. "Alucard? Where are you? We haven't been able to get in contact with either Genos or Seras. Are they with you?"

"No, they went on ahead. I'm here with the C-class hero, Saitama."

On the other line, the bearded worker's eyes slightly widened: he knew Saitama. He was the Class C hero that had gotten perfect scores on his physical exam. "Both of you need to fall back."

"Hold on, I'm putting you on speaker so Saitama can listen." Alucard held his phone out, and Saitama inched his head slightly forward. "One of the monsters is terrorizing the city defeated an S-class hero! Even with both of you together, it might be too much to handle. Fall back and wait for more S-class heroes to be called in so you can regroup and fight it together."

"It took out an S-class hero?" said Alucard, impressed that a monster had that kind of power. If it were that powerful, who knows what would happen if it came across Genos and Seras? "Where is it now? Saitama and I can handle this."

"Didn't you hear me? It took out-"

"WHERE IS THIS MONSTER NOW?" The Hero Association managed was stunned into momentary silence by Alucard's fierce tone of voice. Maybe he was right: after all, Saitama broke every record on the physical exam, and Alucard was an S-class hero after all. Perhaps together, they could kill this monster. "It's attacking the evacuation shelter in the souther part of City J."

When the heroes heard this, both of their faces hardened. Such a powerful monster and such a crowded area only spelled disaster. "We're on our way!" Alucard hung up the phone and began running down the street. "We were heading north with Mumen Rider, so we'll just go the opposite way and do a thorough search of the area until we spot the shelter."

"Got it." Saitama ran alongside the vampire, and both went on a full-sprint to the shelter, unaware of how desperately the people needed their help.

* * *

The air was filling with positivity. Despondency was being replaced with hope, and the citizens now felt privileged to watch as the four heroes dealt with this monster, completely oblivious to the fear and panic the four heroes were feeling. None of the citizens could see the look of fears in the eyes of all the heroes except for Sneck, who was able to stay composed because of his status as an A-class hero.

"When I say go, we all attack at once. It's the only chance we've got," said Sneck. The four heroes inched their feet closer. "One, two-"

Sneck's countdown was interrupted by Deep Sea King jabbing his fingers into Jet Nice Guy's chest, ripping him in half. While this would have normally killed a regular person and spilled their guts out, this B-class hero's guts were actually made out of metal, for he was actually a cyborg. Nevertheless, the blow was still fatal, and with only that single attack, Jet Nice Guy was down for the count. Next, All Back-Man and Bunbunman were pummeled with simultaneous single punches from the monster's fists, knocking them out cold. For the final hero, Deep Sea King punched downward, but Sneck was actually skilled enough to dodge the monster's strike and hovered midair. "Yes! I can dodge his attacks!" Sneck could dodge ONE attack: Deep Sea King immediately followed up his attack and punched Sneck straight out of the stadium, sending him crashing outside and rendering the hero unconscious.

The crowd went quiet. They couldn't believe it: in the end, the power of these four heroes wasn't even enough to lift a finger to this monster. Deep Sea King noticed the deathly silence and sardonically said, "Oh? What happened to all the happy cheering?"

"Look! Up there!" Everyone in the stadium looked up and saw two people standing at the top of the hole that had just been made by Sneck: those two people were none other than Genos and Seras.

"So you are one of the Seafolk?"

* * *

 _Chapter 18 is wrapped up folks! The climactic battle against Genos, Seras and the Deep Sea King will have to wait until next chapter, so make sure to stay tuned!"_


	19. Undying Willpower

_Didn't expect such a quick update, did you? And to make it even better, this is going to be a rather long chapter, the longest chapter yet in fact. Now get ready to see how the fight against Deep Sea King is going to change now that it's two-on-one._

* * *

"So you are one of the Seafolk?" Genos stared down at the monster while Seras was looking at the horrified faces of the citizens. She looked around and felt her skin tingle when she saw three men lying unconscious. They must've been heroes who tried to fight Deep Sea King and were defeated.

Deep Sea King was starting to become annoyed by the constant flow of people coming in ready to fight him. "What happens if I say yes?" Both Genos and Seras jumped down and took fighting stances against the monster. "Am I to assume that you two are more feeble heroes who're here to stop-"

"We are here to eliminate you!" shouted Genos.

"You won't be threatening anyone else now that we're here!" continued Seras. The cyborg's eyes and his body glowed bright orange, channelling the energy from his power core into his fist. Genos lunged forward and using all his power, punched Deep Sea King square in the cheek, while Seras jumped up and kicked the monster as hard as she could in his stomach. While Seras was doing the heavy work on his stomach, Genos increased the potency of his punch by spinning his right arm. The force and amazing heat was powerful enough to disorient Deep Sea King, blowing a large hole through the evacuation shelter and destroying most of the buildings in the path of the cyborg's punch for about a quarter of a mile.

Genos' eyes returned to normal and he looked back to the citizens in the shelter. "The target is eliminated. Was that the final Seafolk?" asked Genos.

Seras felt fresh energy fill her, and she warmly smiled at Genos. "I think that was." She then turned to the people, who were still in shock that this monster was defeated so quickly. "Don't worry, everyone. I think it's over."

A monumental uproar surged in the throngs of people, and everyone was jubilantly hugging each other, feeling the weight of their looming deaths now lifted. Both Genos and Seras could see just how relieved the citizens were. "Wow, they must've been really frightened," said Seras.

"Yes, but now there's nothing to-" The cyborg stopped his sentence when he felt a giant hand grabbing his arm and another fist hitting his head, preparing to sever the hero's arm from his body. But before Genos could be sent flying, Seras reacted and performed a flying spin kick on the monster's head. This loosened Deep Sea King's grip on Genos enough for the cyborg to push himself off of the monster and fly backward. Seras performed a midair backflip and landed right next to Genos.

"Are you alright, Genos?" asked Seras, noticing the cracks on the cyborg's face and the mangled area on his arm where Deep Sea King had grabbed him.

"Yes." The hero scowled: he let his guard down, just like he did with Mosquito Girl. If Seras hadn't intervened when she did, the force of that monster's punch coupled with the grip he had on his arm would've likely ended up with Genos losing an arm. "Luckily, I didn't lose my arm."

"Glad to help," said Seras, telling that this was the closest thing to a compliment he'd ever gotten from Genos. The people's hopes were once again deflated when they saw this monster still standing, even after taking such a powerful blow. What were they going to do?

Deep Sea King, however, wasn't as fine as the civilians might've thought he was: the force of Genos' punch was able to make a hole in the monster's jaw, exposing his teeth. Not only that, but Seras' kick had managed to deal some damage as well and made him cough up some fish he'd had for lunch. These two heroes were not worthless trash like the other four heroes he just fought: he would have to be careful with them. "You know you actually managed to hurt me," said Deep Sea King, "But all that's done is make me furious!"

Seras and Genos focused on their priorities and yelled to the frightened evacuees. "All of you need to get out of here now!" yelled Seras.

"We'll keep this monster busy!" continued Genos, "We can't promise you we'll win, so you must go now!"

The people took heed of their warnings and ran for their lives. While they were running, Seras quietly went over a general strategy with Genos. "Alright Genos: we need to fight him as a team. Our best course of action is stay out of his sight and try to use his larger frame to our advantage by finding out his blind spots. Once we do that, make sure to hit him with everything you've got." She'd learned many fighting styles and tactics at the police academy, and dealing with larger criminals was one of those areas of expertise.

Genos heard this plan and saw it as the best course of action. "Agreed."

Deep Sea King observed the fleeing citizens while his face and his stomach regenerated from the damage he'd been given. Inside this monster, the thrill of the hunt and the lust for their blood overtook him, and his pupils widened with pleasure. "Where are you monkeys going?" Deep Sea King primed his claws and began a full-sprint towards the fleeing spectators. "NONE OF YOU WILL ESCAPE ME!"

"Go!" The two teenagers went on the offensive: the cyborg's body lit up again and the cyborg propelled himself forward by unleashing small blasts from his hands, while the vampire let out a primal shout and bent her legs to increase her speed.

"Boost Attack!" Deep Sea King noticed the boy's left foot preparing to kick him in the face while the girl jumped above him and prepared to kick him square in the head. The monster barely had enough time to counter Genos with a left jab to the face and block Seras with his elbow. The cyborg grunted and slid across Deep Sea King's arm, where he unleashed several quick punches. Deep Sea King met those punches with his own while he was trying to keep an eye on where Seras had gone. The female vampire performed a backflip behind Deep Sea King and prepared to kick the monster in the back. Deep Sea King turned his back 90 degrees to anticipate and block her kick, but this small opening allowed for Genos to land at least a dozen punches on Deep Sea King. He then followed up with a powerful right uppercut that sent Deep Sea King crashing through the ceiling, where he was greeted with more rainfall. That rainfall was quickly evaporated by the cyborg's incineration blast, drying up the monster and causing him to yell in agony. "GRRAAAAHHHH!" Deep Sea King pumped his body up and dispelled the flames. Alas, he was greeted with Seras and her hardened fists barreling his chest and knocking the breath out of him. Deep Sea King scowled and punched Seras across the face, sending her down, but once again, his split attention caused him to be unaware of Genos hovering right above him.

"Lightning Eye!" Genos unleashed a blinding flash of light from his eye, disorienting the monster. "I can't see!" yelled Deep Sea King. Now vulnerable to attack, Genos grunted and unleashed one of his special moves. "Machine Gun Blows!" The cyborg threw a fast chain of heavy punches at the Deep Sea King, making the monster cough up blue blood. "You certainly have a proclivity for combo attacks, don't you boy?" Deep Sea King once again crashed through the roof, and just as he was about to fall to the ground, Seras jumped up, spinning multiple times in the air, and held her foot out, taking a page out of Sonic's book. This time, Deep Sea King managed to predict the attack and caught the vampire's foot, throwing her down into the ground.

Genos had already made it back to the ground, and Seras had quickly recovered, so both the heroes were standing in front of Deep Sea King while all three were covered by a large cloud of smoke. Deep Sea King saw their close proximity and threw both fists at Genos and Seras; the two heroes blocked his punches, and both were desperately trying to hold their own against the separate fists. The aquatic beast yelled and increased the force in his fists, causing both heroes to grunt and lose some ground.

Some of the citizens who hadn't been able to evacuate saw the struggle the two heroes were facing and ran as fast as they could. One of the fleeing civilians was a young girl with a bunny in her arms who couldn't bear to see these two heroes lose to this scary monster. So while her father was pulling her arm, the young girl regained her voice and with all her heart shouted, "Don't give up! I know you can win!"

The Deep Sea King's ears were pierced by the girl's annoying voice, and he decided to take action. "Shut your mouth, little girl!" Deep Sea King inflated his cheeks and spit out some sort of light green substance. Both Genos and Seras felt their hearts rise to their throats: what was that liquid?

The green liquid was falling towards the little girl, who was watching with horror. "Now you'll melt, little girl!" Both the girl and her father could do nothing as this young child would meet her painful death, but one couldn't say the same for Genos and Seras. The two teenage heroes jumped into action, pushed the fists off of them and ran as fast as they could to protect the little girl. Neither of them realized that the other was rushing to her defense: they were too focused on saving the girl to focus on each other.

"I can make it!" thought Seras.

"I can make it!" thought Genos. The time was racing, and there would only be one who sacrificed themselves. But who would it be? Who would be the one to do the deed? It turned out that today, the one who stepped in and saved the little girl from a torturous, gruesome death was the cybernetic, seemingly cold-hearted Genos, who was ahead of Seras by only a foot. Genos jumped in with his back facing Deep Sea King so his more vital areas would be protected, but the acid was too potent: the cyborg felt the acid melting away his back, breaking down his shirt and most of the exterior of his back.

The girl felt like a knife had been lodged in her heart, and tears began to well up in her eyes when she saw the look of relief and pain flashing through his eyes. What Genos couldn't see was that Seras herself felt the pit of her stomach fall, and the unbridled emotions inside this young girl's soul burst out in the form of misty eyes and quivering lips.

"GENOS!" The vampire's scream didn't sound human. She staggered backwards and slapped both hands on her cheeks as she tearfully watched Genos' body crumble. Both of his arms had been melted off: most of his stomach and some of his chest were left bare, and people could see the cyborg's spine ripped away of its flesh and metal. He was utterly helpless.

The Deep Sea King reveled at this sight of hopelessness and despondency. He laughed and slowly advanced towards the cyborg, where he grabbed him by the head. He gave Seras a sadistic look and told her, "It appears your partner made it before you did: how unfortunate for you." Deep Sea King threw Genos into the wall, creating a large hole and eliciting another sharp gasp from Seras. The monster grinned, "What's the matter? Have you lost the energy to even speak? How weak your emotional attachments make you." Deep Sea King sprinted up to Genos and punched him through the wall, sending him into the street.

The female vampire felt her chest lose all its air. Genos didn't even hesitate to put himself on the line, to experience that agonizing pain and feel his body melt away, and had gone to protect that little girl. That should've been Seras, not Genos. She should've been the one to experience that pain, and now here she was, standing like a pathetic little bitch while Genos was facing the Deep Sea King all by himself.

It was coming: that passionate gaze, that fire in the soul, that overwhelming fury which allowed the body to tap into all the hidden strength it had and crush its opponent with murderous ferocity. Deep Sea King didn't know what he'd just awakened.

The monster cackled and walked up to to the defeated hero. "If only you focused on fighting me and not protecting a stupid little girl, you may've actually stood a chance. I have to admit, you actually ruffled me up quite a bit: I was beginning to get worried. But I've already healed. Now you-" Deep Sea King was speedily interrupted by Seras slamming Deep Sea King's face into the ground with her hand. The monster saw Seras' fury and sensed the overwhelming murderous intent emanating from her. "Oh, it looks like-" Seras didn't even bother to let Deep Sea King finish: the rage was too overwhelming. She grasped the aquatic beast's face and proceeded to spin him around. The female vampire screamed and flung him into the buildings. The force in her swing was enough to send him through four buildings. Deep Sea King shook his head and was unprepared for Seras staring her right in the eyes with more of her murderous intent. Deep Sea King unleashed a flurry of punches which Seras was able to effortlessly dodge. She then caught his right arm, raised her elbow, and slammed down on his arm as hard as she could. The sound of Deep Sea King's bones breaking sounded like a giant bottle of soda being opened, and Seras loved it. The aquatic king grunted, but was able to handle the pain. Deep Sea King punched with his left arm, but instead of catching it with her hands, she caught it with her teeth. "Oh?" Deep Sea King could feel the girl's jagged teeth sinking into his fingers and noticed how sharp they were. "Interesting..." Seras pulled Deep Sea King's fingers as hard as she could and ripped four fingers off his hand, leaving only his thumb.

"You're going to pay for what you did to Genos!" screamed Seras, "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY ME WITH YOUR BLOOD!" The female vampire's fury was the only thing on her mind, which was why her left arm returned to its original red and black form. Deep Sea King's eyes opened up: what was this? What did this mean?

"My my, quite an interesting revelation. You are a monster who's charading as a hero." Seras realized her arm was now vampiric and stiffened her body. "Now it all makes sense: your murderous aura, your sharpened teeth, things you would expect to find in a monster. I must say, I'm rather impressed. The way you attacked me just now, the unbridled savagery in your strikes, you truly wanted to kill me. You are no stranger to your dark side. So why do you hide your true identity?"

Seras barked at Deep Sea King. "SHUT UP! I'M NOT GOING TO EXPLAIN MYSELF TO A MONSTER LIKE YOU!"

"A monster like me? My dear, are we really that different?" This statement caused Seras' arm to expand in size and swirl repeatedly. The idea of being compared to an abomination like this was absolutely revolting. "OF COURSE!"

The aquatic monster cackled at the oblivious nature of Seras. "Beyond the title of hero and monster, both you and I enjoy crushing our enemies, giving into our killing urges and tearing apart our enemies, things that monsters do on a regular basis. We love the feeling of power we have over our opponents and those who are weaker than us. However, I concede that there is one difference between you and I!" Deep Sea King once again unleashed the full depths of his power, increasing his size and towering over the young hero. As he did this, he regenerated his severed fingers, and his right arm realigned itself. "I fully accept what I am: a monster who is destined to rule this world!" Deep Sea King bolted at Seras when she was unprepared, sending her flying back near the stadium. While she was flying down, she panicked and immediately focused all her attention on maintaining her arm in her human form. At that moment, she was a complete mess, trying to keep all the volatile feelings of rage, confusion, frustration and shock at check while keeping her arm looking human and also maintaining her guard against Deep Sea King.

"Oh? I don't sense the same killing intent from a few moments ago," mocked Deep Sea King, "Have you gone soft?" The monster knocked the legs from under Seras with a chop, and then kicked the vampire with a left roundhouse kick. She blocked the strike with her elbow, but she was too slow and sloppy, and she still took most of the brunt of the blow. When she crashed into the building, she repositioned herself at the last minute and leaped back at Deep Sea King, attempting to land several punches, but the monster was able to dodge them all. "How weak. This fight is over!"

With the remaining strength he had, Genos turned his head around to see Seras being dominated by Deep Sea King. Without his help and while he was in that enhanced form, she simply couldn't stand up to him. "Seras..."

"Barrage!" Deep Sea King finished his opponent off with the same series of underhanded punches he used to defeat Puri-Puri Prisoner, and like him, Seras was simply unable to react to this chain of heavy punches. Then, with a final strike, Deep Sea King tossed her into another building, knocking the female vampire unconscious. With her concentration gone, her arm reverted from its human form again, but luckily for Seras, she was out of the view of the citizens.

"Now then, where were we..." Deep Sea King turned his attention back to the defeated Genos and prepared to crush his head, when he heard a new voice yelling from behind him.

"Justice Crash!" The C-class hero Mumen Rider had finally arrived and threw his bike at Deep Sea King. The monster inched his head back and saw the hero staring down at him with a fighting stance, prepared to defy him like the rest of the surface world trash. "The C-class cyclist hero, Mumen Rider, is here to fight!"

Genos heard Mumen Rider and grimaced. There was nothing Mumen Rider could do against that monster. "Leave now!" The cyborg tried to call out to the C-class hero, but his voice was too weak. From inside the shelter, the citizens crowded around the hole made by Genos' body when thrown by Deep Sea King. Some of the people recognized the hero.

"Mumen Rider's here," said a citizen, "He's come to save us."

"But..." The citizens spoke with heavy reluctance: did Mumen Rider even stand a chance?

Regardless of his odds, the C-class hero rushed Deep Sea King with his right fist craned back. The aquatic beast took a glance at this pathetic showmanship and heaved an aggravated sigh. "What a boring opponent." Deep Sea King grabbed Mumen Rider's arm and softly smashed the hero against the ground, prolonging the battle so he could at least have some fun with this one. After smacking him on the ground about 5 times, Mumen Rider's body flew into the air, leaving his glove in Deep Sea King's hand. The monster, assuming that this sad hero was already done for, resumed his activities. "Now, back to the matter at-hand." Deep Sea King looked up, though, and saw that Mumen Rider wasn't done yet. "Justice Tackle!"

Mumen Rider opened his arms and attempted to knock Deep Sea King off his feet, but all this did was serve to aggravate the monster. The C-class hero had blood running down his face and felt some disorientation, but that wasn't stopping him from fighting with everything he had. "I know that I'm only a C-class hero-" Deep Sea King casually tossed Mumen Rider several meters away. The hero found it difficult to get up, as even casual moves like those were strong enough to seriously damage Mumen Rider. "And that people think that I can't do much." Mumen Rider pushed himself up with his right arm, but faltered, with more blood flowing down the hero's face and even coming out of his mouth. "I know that better than anyone." Mumen Rider mustered up enough strength to get himself back on his feet, focusing now on straightening his body. "That's why I've been in Class C for so long: because I know I'm too weak to move up to Class B. And I'm not an idiot: I know that I've got zero chance of winning. But it's not about that!"

Deep Sea King wasn't actually paying any attention to the incessant racket coming out of the hero's mouth, only hearing endless shouting. "What do you insist on yelling about?" said Deep Sea King.

Genos was trying with all his might to get back up, but his internal mechanisms weren't responding. Mumen Rider's fiery willpower burst out like a storm of flames, and even in the face of probable death, this willpower overcame that slight fear and allowed him to stay standing. "IT'S MORE THAN JUST WINNING OR LOSING!" screamed Mumen Rider, "IT'S ABOUT KEEPING A PROMISE!" Mumen Rider's mind went back to Alucard's last words to him, and that faith Alucard had in Mumen Rider helped to keep the fire in his belly going. IT'S ABOUT NOW, AT THIS MOMENT, FIGHTING YOU HERE WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BODY!"

Watching from the sidelines, everyone watching heard this valiant hero's noble monologue and actually felt tears welling up in their eyes. To know that there was such an honorable man out there, to know that their lives mattered so much to him, and to know that he was staring death straight in the eye without blinking, all of these things made the spectators lend their hearts out to Mumen Rider.

Deep Sea King, however, was not impressed. "Silence, fool! I've had enough of your melodramatic monologue! Prepare for your death!" Mumen Rider scowled and prepared himself for the blow to come, when from the shelter, a voice called out to him. "Do it, Mumen Rider!" A young boy was clutching onto his mother's chest and was trying to reach out to the C-class hero. "You're the cyclist for justice! Beat that ugly monster!" Mumen Rider's soul went out to this child, and his lips began to quiver. "I BELIEVE IN YOU!" screamed the child, tears now rolling down his face. The citizens were inspired by this child's passionate support for Mumen Rider, and more voices joined in.

"DO IT, MUMEN RIDER!"

"WE BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"FRY THAT FISH!"

Faith. Even knowing that this powerful monster had eradicated S-class heroes, and even knowing that Mumen Rider was hopelessly outclassed, everyone in that shelter still had faith in Mumen Rider. That faith was the final burst of fuel, the last bit of momentum that compelled Mumen Rider to unleash every last ounce of willpower. So with the last bit of strength, Mumen Rider clenched his fists and screamed at the top of his lungs. Here it was: the classic fairy tale of the noble knight facing the dreaded dragon, and the hero holding the monster's head in his hand. This was what everyone hoped it would lead to.

"GRRRAAAAHHHHH!" Mumen Rider rushed Deep Sea King with his right hand clenched into a fist, but with a nonchalant punch, Mumen Rider was sent flying back, the last bit of strength obliterated. Everyone in the stadium felt like their dreams had just died. But the sad truth was, the idea that Mumen Rider would win against such a powerful opponent was only that: a dream. It was easy to think that all the conflicts against heroes and monsters were like fairy tales, and the hero would stand victorious against the monster, but this was real life. In real life, willpower and hope were sometimes not enough, for in the end, the sad, undeniable, and unescapable truth is that in a battle, strength determines the winner. And today, Mumen Rider did not have the strength he needed to win.

The Deep Sea King cracked another smile. "How easy! Your whole endeavor has been a waste of my time!"

He expected the C-class hero to fall in defeat, but instead of hearing and seeing Mumen Rider's lifeless body fall to the ground, the C-class hero was currently in the arms of a tall man with long black hair, a red trench coat, and a red hat. Standing besides this man was another man with a yellow jumpsuit, red boots and gloves, and a white cape. Alucard was looking down at Mumen Rider's broken body and smiling. The cyclist was still conscious, and he smiled when he saw Alucard's face calmly watching him. "I fulfilled my promise," muttered Mumen Rider, "I fought with everything I had."

"I know," replied Alucard, "I heard the chants and managed to catch a glimpse of the battle. You persevered through the very worst of this endeavor, and even when hanging on the edge of your life, you didn't waver. You are a true hero."

"That's right, man." Saitama walked up to Mumen Rider and grabbed the hero's hand to give him a firm handshake. "You did awesome. Feel proud of yourself." Mumen Rider grasped the fellow C-class hero's hands before he finally fell unconscious.

"Yet two more pieces of garbage who decided to wash up on my shore! It looks like I'll have to do some more cleaning!"

Alucard gently put Mumen Rider on the ground and looked up at the Deep Sea King. He could sense the strong aura coming off of him, and combined with his hulking appearance, knew that this was a powerful opponent. Saitama looked around and gasped when he saw Genos lying on the ground with most of his body burned off. "Oh my god, Genos!" Alucard turned and likewise gasped when he saw the cyborg's broken state. "Are you alive?"

The teenage cyborg moved his head up and quietly croaked, "Master, Alucard..." When he heard his disciple speak lightly, he let out a sigh of relief. But Alucard still knew there was something missing. "Genos, where is Seras?" Saitama's expression dampened again, and he looked around for any signs of the female vampire with Alucard.

"Master!" Saitama and Alucard heard the policegirl's voice shouting out to them, and saw her looking at them several floors high at a building, limping and bruised but otherwise looking relieved to see them. It looks like both their disciples had a tough time against this monster.

"Glad to see you're alright, Seras," shouted Saitama, "Just lemme pound this sea freak, unless you want to take a crack at it, Alucard."

The Vampire King had no problems with allowing Saitama to go first. "Be my guest."

Deep Sea King's teeth clenched and he ran behind Saitama. "You can try!" The aquatic monster punched Saitama in the back of the head, with the force of the punch being strong enough to scatter the falling rain. Saitama's head was smoking from the friction of Deep Sea King's punch, and there was some mild scratches, but other than that, Saitama was perfectly fine. Alucard noted this and crossed his arms. "This is already over," thought the vampire.

The King of the Seas could see that powerful resistance might've been building up now. "So you're still standing after my punch? Quite an impressive feat. Clearly, you're much more powerful than the unevolved pond scum scurrying around in their pointless lives."

"Huh?" Saitama turned around to face Deep Sea King and apathetically replied, "No, that's not it. You just have no power behind your punches, clear and simple."

Alucard cackled at Saitama's cutting insults and held his hands to his chest. "How does it feel to face real power, you bloated buffoon?"

People watching the new people arrive weren't sure what to think of this. "I recognize one of those guys as a newly-recruited S-class hero."

"An S-class hero?" said a citizen, "Then we're saved."

"But that monster was able to take down two S-class heroes," added another citizen, "Why is this any different?"

"There are going to have to be multiple S-class heroes if they want to beat that thing. And who's the bald guy he's with?"

"I recognize him! He's a C-class, Rank 2 hero. So why is he with an S-class hero?"

"More importantly," continued a female spectator, "How was he able to withstand that punch?" Many questions and concerns like these were spreading through the crowd, and none of them were sure anymore about what would happen to them.

Deep Sea King became infuriated by Alucard's impertinent attitude. "How dare you! I am the King of the Deep, Lord of the Sea! The lifeforms that now dwell on the land all evolved from the life in the sea! The sea is the origin of all life on Earth, and as the ruler of the sea, I am at the pinnacle of the pyramid of life that includes every living thing on this planet! To defy me is to defy nature itse-"

"Yea yea," interrupted the bald hero, picking ear wax out with his index finger. Saitama had heard plenty of these monologues before, and this one had nothing new to it. Just a bunch of nonsense about his origins and his supposed superiority. "You're from the sea, you're better than everyone else, whatever. Can we just finish this? It's raining out."

That struck the last nerve of patience Deep Sea King had, and the monster went all-out with his punch. The monster's fist was huge, surrounded by air current, and would've obliterated any regular opponent, but as everyone who'd met Saitama knew, Saitama wasn't a regular opponent. With nonexistent effort, Saitama retaliated and punched Deep Sea King in the stomach. All around the heroes, the rain was pushed away, the air pressure from his punch scattering the water and most of the clouds above as well. Not only that, but Saitama's punch was potent enough that the Deep Sea King's regeneration couldn't compensate for the damage given to him and the giant hole in his stomach.

Everyone in the stadium was in disbelief: with only a single punch from this hero, this monster, who'd taken care of half a dozen heroes, was killed. For Alucard, Seras and Genos, however, they'd come to see this as the norm, but it still felt good to see Saitama's opponents fall.

Once the Deep Sea King's body fell to the ground, the crowd erupted in tumultuous relief. Many of the citizens were brought to tears, and the mother of the child who cheered for Mumen Rider grasped her son as hard as she could.

The feeling of relief and happiness was not shared by Saitama: in contrast, he was actually disappointed. "Looks like I got another let-down, just when I thought it was gonna be interesting."

Alucard sighed and put his hand on the hero's shoulder. "I can see what you mean, but try to look on the positive side: you saved all these citizens from death, and none of the heroes who fought this monster were killed."

"Yea, that's true."

Once the threat of the Deep Sea King was gone, Seras immediately jumped down and sprinted to Genos. "Genos! I'm here" The female vampire was once again heartbroken when she saw the mangled and melted Genos lying on the ground. When she approached him, she lost the feeling in her legs and fell to her knees. "Look at what he did to you." The sight of this brought back horrible memories of when Pip was killed by Zorin and he died in her arms. Although she hadn't seen it herself, she'd accessed Pip's memories and saw how gruesomely he'd been maimed and how he'd protected her. The feeling of dread and hopelessness was overwhelming, and those feelings were starting to creep up her spine.

Even after being so rude and unforgiving towards Genos, Seras always knew that inside, he was a good soul who wanted to protect the people and he was simply blinded by his arrogance and unwillingness to change his mentality. After all the time she'd spent training with him and fighting monsters together, she became closer with this noble hero, and today, his actions only served to prove her beliefs about him. A tear ran down her face, and the young hero wrapped her arms around the cyborg's chest. His eyes widened when he felt this sudden warmth embracing him, and he looked up to see Seras with her eyes welled up, a tear rolling down her right cheek, and his body cradled in her arms. Normally, he would've tried to stop her and push her off of him, but he had no energy left to do anything, so he just needed to accept it. To accept this overwhelming affection Seras was giving him. He had to admit, he didn't remember the last time anyone had embraced him like this and what it felt like to be warmly accepted like this, to actually be... loved. He couldn't think of anything more to describe it, this emotion. Now he would never admit this to Seras, his master or anyone else, but this actually felt... nice.

The shelter continued to shout unfettered praise at Saitama's victory. "That hero's insane!"

"He ended it with just one punch!"

"How can he really be in Class C?" Alucard's lips curved up nominally knowing that some people were giving Saitama the praise he deserved. When there is praise, though, there is also criticism, and hiding within that crowd was someone with that criticism. "Or could it be..." The people stopped their praises when they heard this voice interjecting, "That thing wasn't as big the threat as everybody thought it was."

Alucard heard this weakling's criticism, and his pulse slammed on his neck.

An adjacent young male with a white shirt and short brownish hair objected to this guy's judgements. "Are you crazy? You saw how many of those heroes got wiped out by that monster." A woman with a pink shirt and long black hair nodded, a few others joining in. The chubby man wasn't buying into it. "Guess that just means the rest of those heroes weren't all that tough either."

The man with the white shirt pursed his lips. "Maybe you're right. I mean, when he took that monster down, it didn't look that strong."

Mr. Chubby continued, "Look at it like this: A C-class hero took that thing out with one punch. What's that got to say about all the other heroes who got beaten by it. The Hero Association may give them their fancy titles like Class A or Class S, but none of those titles meant a thing when they fought the monster. " He chuckled and put his hand up to his mouth, irritating some of the people near him. A male with a black shirt and spiked black hair interjected. "Stop it, dude. All those heroes were ready to give up their lives for us."

"And? Anybody can just go and put their lives on the line, it's easy."

That last statement put Alucard in his rage mode. The S-class hero began walking up to this man, preparing to do the thing he was best at besides killing monsters. Already knowing how the song and dance played out with Saitama, Alucard raised his finger and said, "I'm not going to inflict any damage on him. Well, physical damage."

"A hero has to beat monsters: that's what they signed up for. It becomes so annoying to see average people like that," he directed his finger to All Back-Man, who was hanging several meters up with blood running down his face, "Call themselves heroes and just end up failing miserably. I mean, come-" His throat clenched when he saw Alucard had come up to him and was staring him down. The other people backed away a few feet, leaving Alucard and this man in the center of the circle. "You think it's easy?" started Alucard, "You think that putting one's life in serious danger is something that occurs on a daily basis, that a man's first reaction would be to run straight into the lines of battle? That kind of bravery is only something a rare few men have, and certainly something a deplorable, self-righteous weasel like you doesn't have."

"Yea, fatty!" yelled a man with black shirt and brown hair, "Come on, kick his ass! He deserves it!"

"Now come on!" The man's obvious veil of narcissism and judgement was lifted, revealing his nature as the coward and weakling he really was. He bent his knees slightly down and backed away , reaching an end of the circle of people. "Let's not get physical!" He directed his attention back at Alucard, "I mean, why are you getting mad and confronting me like this? I'm just speaking the truth: these heroes have their jobs! Most of the funds of the Hero Association come from our donations, and if the heroes can't protect us, then they're just glorified clowns putting on their costumes and acts!"

Alucard shook his head, "Perhaps there may be some truth behind your protests, but when it comes down to it, when faced against a monster like that, you would tremble with fear and do anything to save your own hide."

A few amused chuckles and nods of agreement came from the crowd, and the man immediately came up with a counter-argument. "But I'm not a hero! I didn't choose to fight monsters like all those other guys, and they were supposed to fight so none of us would have to face the situation you talked about!" Seras and Genos heard this man's argument and trembled with rage. "All I'm trying to say is that bald guy did all the work, and everything the rest of the heroes did amounted to jack shit! When you get right down to that, the other heroes didn't do anything heroic at all."

Anything heroic? The other heroes didn't do anything heroic? Alucard bared his teeth and all set to spew more venomous words at this man, when out of nowhere, he heard laughter. Alucard didn't understand who would be laughing or why they'd do it at such a time like this, and was shocked to see that this laughter was coming from Saitama. Everyone else picked up on it and listened to see what was going on with the bald hero.

"Looks like today was my winning ticket for the lottery!" All three S-class heroes gasped. "After all those other heroes wore the monster down, I barely needed any of my strength to land the finishing blow! Lucky for me, I was late and let the other heroes do all the major work for me!" The three heroes all picked up on what Saitama was trying to do. Saitama turned around and pointed at the crowd. "Now all of you, go out and spread the word! I beat this fish by myself! If any of you smartasses think of saying otherwise, I'll kick your heads in!"

Murmurs of confusion went around the crowd. "You mean that monster was already weakened?"

"Hang on." Another citizen in the crowd recognized the hero and the circumstances falling around Deep Sea King's defeat. "That guy's Saitama."

Nearby citizens raised their eyebrows. "Saitama? What hero is he?" asked one of those citizens.

"He's a hero from City Y that's being known as a cheat."

"Hey yea!" The same man with spiked hair chimed in. "Apparently, he climbed up the rankings super fast by destroying a meteor that'd been attacked by two S-class heroes just before."

"Wow, that's lame."

The King of Vampires felt conflicted: as he watched everyone give Saitama cold stares and renounce their gratitude, the people were being reminded that even the weaker heroes had done something and remembered to show gratitude for their work against Deep Sea King. It was both fair and unfair, both sickening and pleasing. Alucard clenched his fists in frustration: why could these people not realize the valor of the other heroes without having to discredit Saitama?

"I'm also gonna need you all to check on those other wannabe heroes, ok? I mean, where's my reward gonna be if they all die on me?" The discontent towards Saitama only grew within the crowd, and they all scowled at the hero's "disgraceful" nature. "He really is a cheat."

"What a jerk."

"Those other heroes, they did more than we thought. What would've happened if they didn't fight?" commented a civilian.

In the street, both Seras and Genos grimaced. Like Alucard, they both felt that Saitama's actions were outright unfair to the bald hero. "Oh Genos, this isn't right: all those heroes deserve respect, including Saitama. But Saitama's chosen to sacrifice his own image to help them instead." The teenage cyborg closed his eyes: was this really the path that Saitama wanted to take? The path where disrespect, bitterness, and ungratefulness would follow him? If it really was, then the cyborg would respect his master's decision and not deter him from the path. However, when the time came, Genos, as well as the two vampires, would be ready to defend Saitama with everything they had. They would be ready to stand by the true hero of today.

* * *

The news and more dangerously, the gossip, about the Deep Sea King's death and all of the heroes who'd tried and failed to defeat him spread like wildfire throughout the world. Many websites posted hateful and mocking articles about the defeated heroes, but even more websites wrote about the horrible, no-good cheat who'd swooped in at the right time known as Saitama. Some people even posted videos about his "pathetic" behavior, and a few even tried to explain how much damage the other heroes did beforehand through theoretical science.

For the four heroes, none of them paid attention to this kind of rambling and venting from the general public and continued to go about with their daily lives. For three of the heroes, this had been relatively easy, but for one of the heroes, it appeared that the battle had been quite the dramatic experience for her. There was something different about Seras, a part of Seras that burned brighter than ever before. These past few days, she'd been training harder than ever before. She'd go to Bang's dojo or have Genos spar with her, but the intensity increased significantly. Even Genos was slightly put off by how much more passionate she'd become after her battle with Deep Sea King. It seemed that she was determined not to let another monster like Deep Sea King get the best of her.

But something else had happened, something subtle but noticeable for the heroes. Ever since Deep Sea King was defeated, Genos had begun to act slightly different around Seras. Although he was still rather rude to her and didn't engage in any pleasant conversations with her, he'd begun to acknowledge her more often, actually saying good morning to her once. Usual one-sentence responses from Genos increased to two-sentence, even three-sentence responses. And even more, the two heroes were becoming better and better at understanding their fighting styles, as if the battle against the Deep Sea King was a firsthand experience of how the other fought in real battles, allowing them to become more familiar with one another. It appeared that Genos had finally decided to view Seras as an ally.

At this time, the four heroes were casually strolling back to their apartment, grocery bags in the hands of Saitama and Seras. As they exited the elevator and walked toward their room, the four heroes noticed a cardboard box at their doorstep. "What do you think that is?" said Saitama.

"I believe it is the mail," replied Genos. The teenage cyborg picked up the box and Seras unlocked the door. "What do you think is in there?" Alucard asked, "I can't believe that it's all mail inside of there."

"Well, we won't know until we open it, will we," the female vampire replied. While Saitama and Seras took out all the products in the grocery bags, Genos and Alucard walked to the couches, where Genos then put the box on the floor and Alucard ripped it open.

"Let us see what we were sent." The vampire opened the package and was perplexed by what he saw: they were actually all envelopes. Genos knew what this was. "These are letters written by people to the Hero Association. I believe they are basically fan letters."

"Fan letters?" Saitama felt interested to know that fan letters were being sent, and Seras also couldn't help but wonder how many people sent letters to her. "Are there any for me?"

"I'm not sure: let me see." Saitama and Seras walked to the couch and sat around the box, and the four heroes then began to open their fan letters. The three S-class heroes opened letters to them and each received overwhelmingly positive love. All three read the words of their fans expressing their love and admiration for them, learning that not only did these people join their fan clubs, but that they had fan club at all. Seras felt flattered to know that there were people out there who praised her so much, Alucard was only slightly amused by this admiration, while Genos found it practically irrelevant, since other people's opinions meant almost nothing to him. But when it came to Saitama, however, that was slightly different...

Saitama was tearing open one of the fan letters with his name, the veins in his eyes bulging as he anxiously waited to see what this letter said about him. The other heroes peeked to see what the letter said, and they were appalled: on the letter, someone had typed, "Nobody gives a shit about you, you cowardly, cheating, fucking bald bastard." All three heroes shook with anger, and darkness covered their eyes. "The nerve of some people," muttered Seras.

Genos got up, his eyes glowing with yellow intensity. "I will find out who sent that horrible letter."

"Huh." The anger building up in Alucard, Seras and Genos was completely absent inside Saitama. Similar to Genos, what other people thought about him, specifically negative thoughts, meant nothing to him. "Guess this guy had some free time on his hands." The bald hero put the letter down and grabbed another letter written to him. Genos prepared an incineration cannon to vaporize the letter, while Alucard and Seras waited with equal anticipation. Saitama opened the letter, but this time, the letter was actually one of gratitude, saying "Thanks!" "It's a letter thanking me." Although it was simplistic, it was to-the-point. Genos stopped his incineration cannon, while Seras felt her heart do a little flip, knowing that even one person was grateful for Saitama was nice.

"I'm assuming this is from one of the people you saved," said Alucard.

"Makes sense. Is there anything left?"

"Actually, there is a letter from the Hero Association." Genos grabbed this letter and handed it over to Saitama. "From the Hero Association?"

"What do they want?" said Saitama.

"Who knows? Hopefully it isn't anything bad, like a letter firing me." The C-class hero opened the envelope and saw that it was informing him of his promotion from C-class Rank 2 to Rank 1. It was also telling him to go to the Hero Association headquarters in City Y alone.

"So you were moved to the top of Class C," Alucard commented, "Makes sense. But why do they want you to go to the headquarters?" Saitama shrugged his shoulders and got up from the floor. "Guess I'll be going to the headquarters. Be back in a few."

* * *

After a very short walk and a guide instructing Saitama to the meeting room, the newly promoted hero was now standing in front of four Hero Association staff members, waiting to hear whatever big news they'd brought him in to tell him. "So what's going on here? Why'd you call me in?"

The staff members raised their eyebrows, wondering if the hero might be joking with them. "When you signed up as a hero with the Hero Association, you were given one of our pamphlets that explained all of our rules. Didn't you read the rules?"

"Nope. I think I might have it lying around at my home, if you want me to get it."

"No, that's fine," said one of the staff members. "Either way, we brought you in because you've reached the top rank in Class C. Once a hero reaches the top of their rank, they have the option of moving up to the next rank. Now, it is also an option to stay at the current rank you are, although in my personal opinion, I'd recommend you move up. When you move up to Class B, you will no longer have to worry about the weekly hero quota Class C heroes have to make."

"Wait, what?" Saitama didn't catch that last part: there was a weekly hero quota? "What do you mean, weekly hero quota?"

"You know," said the female staff member, "The requirement of doing heroic activities on a weekly basis or be dismissed from the Hero Association." The bald hero nearly fell into the chair. There had been this hero quota the entire time, and he didn't know about it? Genos or anybody else didn't think to mention it to him? He'd been freaking lucky as hell, facing new threats within a few days time consecutively. Good god, he should've actually read the manual.

"So what do you say?" another staff member said, "If you move up, it's important to know that you'll be at the very bottom of Class B and have to work your way up."

"Yea, I think I'll move up to Class B." Saitama didn't think twice about staying in the current class. Just the thought of having to constantly be paroling the city, wasting his time trying to find out where trouble would show up sounded exhausting, and he didn't want to go through that. Besides, he couldn't just stay in Class C while the others were in Class S.

"Understood." One of the staff members jotted down something on his paper, while the female staff member spoke to Saitama. "Before you officially move up, you will have to fill out a questionnaire, as well as undergo a psychiatric evaluation."

While the staff members continued to explain the requirements he'd have to fulfill, three more Hero Association personnel were observing the hero from up above, behind a large mirror near the top of the wall. One was a young woman with short purple hair, another was an old, bald man with a thick, long beard that extended all the way down to his chest, and the third was a middle-aged man with a thin mustache. All three were aware of who Saitama was and what he'd accomplished in his short time as a hero.

"What do you think of this one?" asked the old man. "Many people hold negative opinions of him, believing him to be a fraud who swoops in to steal the credit done by other heroes."

The middle-aged man was the first to voice his opinion. "He broke all the Hero Association records in the fitness exam. I heard that one of the staff members went so far as to call him a god, so who knows how true his supposed fraudulent feats are."

"Interesting," continued the purple-haired woman, "If you're one of the people who believes all the rumors, then people also argue he cheated on the written exam as well."

"Now that's enough." The three employees turned to see a spectacled staff member coming to talk to them. "Those rumors about him are nothing but that, so it's unwise to base our entire opinions about Saitama on them. Regardless of his public image, the fact remains that he received perfect scores on the physical exam and he wants to move up. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't let him do so."

The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders, looking down at Saitama. "That's true. And if it turns out the rumors are true about him, then he'll quickly find out how challenging the rise up to Class B is, as well as the cruel and callous world that awaits him, and he'll be moved back to Class C."

The spectacled worker nodded. "When the time comes, we'll see just what kind of hero Saitama really is."

* * *

While Saitama had been on his way to the City Y Hero Association headquarters, the three S-class heroes were finishing reading their fan letters, wondering if there might've been anything unique or substantial in any of these fan letters. Unfortunately for them, all they found was short, obsessive praises from fanatic supporters. Once Seras was finished with her fan letters, she decided to immediately focus on the thing she wanted to do once she got back. "Come on, Genos. Let's go up the roof and do some more training."

"More training." Per her new trend, all Seras seemed to want to do now was train as rigorously as she possibly could. "May I ask, policegirl, why you are so intent on pushing yourself this much? I don't recall you feeling this passionate for pushing yourself when you were defeated by Carnage Kabuto, so what makes this defeat different."

The young vampire held a serious eye contact with her master for a few seconds, and sighed, closing her eyes as the memories of her loss came back. She stayed with her eyes closed for another few seconds, and then looked at Genos. "This felt different. When I saw you being melted by Deep Sea King, to know that little girl was almost killed in such a gruesome way, and to know that you were dealt such terrible damage, it made me think: what would've happened if I was stronger? How could that have been avoided? I just..." Seras began to tremble with fury and sadness, her hands now clenched into fists. "I don't to ever feel that helpless again. Do you understand?"

Genos understood exactly what she was talking about. The feeling of helplessness, to know that you were too weak to stop the bad things from happening to others, to do nothing. For him, that moment that ignited his spark for justice was 4 years ago when his town was destroyed by the cyborg and he was nearly killed. For Seras, it seemed that his defeat and the possibly agonizing death of that young girl was her spark. "Very well, Seras." The young cyborg got up from his seat and quickly made his way to the door. "Let us go."

Seras opened her eyes in surprise at how quick Genos accepted her request, but that surprise quickly turned into happiness. In this moment, Genos was here for her, ready to help her become stronger. "Yes, Genos." The two teenage heroes went off at a quick pace through the door, while Alucard slowly walked behind them. The two heroes were completely unaware that Alucard had a smile of his own. After all this time waiting for these two to start and cooperate, it appears that the first baby steps were being made. While a functional relationship was far from made, this was still a good first start. With those two fighting side-by-side, who knew what they could do.

* * *

Night had come, and Saitama was walking the streets with his certificate of promotion to Class B in his hands. It turns out that the psychiatric evaluation took up at least three hours of his time, while the questionnaire took up another two, so sadly, Saitama would not be having dinner with the others. "It would've been nice to have dinner with them, but I guess it can't be helped." Saitama rolled up the certificate and put it in his pocket. "Hopefully they left some food for me back home."

Yet his nose picked up the scent of something fresh and tasty. To his left, there was a small shack with green flags hanging on top and a thin cover concealing the restaurant. "Wonder what's cooking up in there." The hero opened the cover and was greeted with the sight of several tasty dishes being cooked in front of him and a delightful, elderly chef ready to deserve him.

"Good evening! How may I serve you?" The bald hero smiled and took a seat. "I'd like the house special, please!"

"Of course!"

"Care for a drink? Or maybe your meal, if that's alright with you." Having evaded Saitama's attention was another customer, and who would have expected that this customer was actually Mumen Rider, still bandaged from his injuries against Deep Sea King but otherwise able to stand. The bald hero didn't quite get where this random gesture was coming from. "What for?"

"For that!" Mumen Rider's observance picked up on the certificate in Saitama's back pocket. "I can tell that you were just at the Hero Association. I think that a celebration is definitely in order."

Hold on. Switches were flipping and gears were turning on in Saitama's head. He met this guy before. "It's you! The guy who gave me the bike ride and fought the Deep Sea King!"

Mumen Rider looked back at Saitama and smiled. "I've actually been looking for you. I didn't get the chance to say everything I wanted in my letter." Saitama's dull emotions were brightened, and the sad soul filled with insecurity and hopelessness saw a small ray of light. To know that someone like this liked him, someone who had the same will to fight on as he did, pushing through the insane pain of his training, was enough to make his day. And for Mumen Rider, just getting to thank Saitama in-person was enough to make his day too.

"I see." The newly promoted B-class hero decided not to refuse Mumen Rider's offer and asked for his preferred meal. "Then if it's not too much trouble, some Mozaku would be nice."

"Yep!" Mumen Rider spoke to the restaurant owner, "Give us some of your best Mozaku,"

"Coming right up!" The two heroes smiled and ate as the moon shined brightly in the sky. The day with more meaningful connections made, more promotions, and even a budding friendship had come to its end, paving the way for whatever amazing experiences would come next for all the heroes.

* * *

For Saitama and Mumen Rider, the day had ended on a positive note, with a friendship forming and a good night's dinner, but on the other side of the planet, a much more dire and looming threat of catastrophe was building. In City G, there lived a very old woman named Shibabawa who was of use to the Hero Association, for she possessed the ability of clairvoyance. Although not frequent in her readings, everything she ever predicted was completely accurate, but in every catastrophe, every monster, every natural disaster, she had never viewed these situations as monumental as what she was seeing in her crystal ball right now.

Madame Shibabawa's body was trembling, her mouth gaping open and her throat gargling. With her hands hovering above the crystal ball, within the dark swirling mass forming inside the ball, the woman saw the coming annihilation of their planet earth. "It's coming... COMING!"

Standing nearby, an escort from the Hero Association heard this commotion and looked on with worry. "Madame Shibabawa? Are you alright? Did you see something in your crystal ball?"

The old woman brought her hands back to her body, continuing to shake with complete fear. "I saw it! The inevitable threat that hovers over all of us, preparing to eradicate our planet!" Shibabawa screamed and looked up to the ceiling, causing the young man to walk up to her side. "Madame Shibabawa, please snap out of it!"

"OUR END HAS ARRIVED! I HAVE SEEN IT!" The great fortune teller flailed her arms in the air and slammed them down, frantically catching her breath while hunched over the crystal ball and looking into the future that it told. "THE EARTH IS DOOMED!" As her life force began to slip away and her soul began to leave her body, all that was on her mind was the utterly hopeless, overpowered and looming threat that was ready to strike humanity. It was... inevitable.

* * *

 _So? Pretty good, right? We get to see a bit more screentime for Seras and even get to see her giving some affection to Genos, whether or not he accepted it. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter, and allow me to assure you that the suspense is only building! With the Deep Sea King arc out of the way, the next arc is on its way with dramatic interactions, intense battles, and more amazing character moments, so stay tuned for Chapter 20 of Monstrum Hominis!_


	20. Awkward Reunions

_Chapter 20 has arrived! Now you finally get to see the Alien Invaders Arc play out, which must mean that the much anticipated meeting between Saitama's group and Hans and Walter is coming in this chapter! Now I leave you to read in excitement as you see how this chapter plays out!_

* * *

Life had always found a way to break free, to unleash its unpredictable and unbelievable power from anywhere on the planet. While the life from the ocean had come to surprise the surface world, another life was beginning to rise. Hidden deep within the snowy mountain ranges, underneath huge glaciers was something that had been slumbering for a long time, longer than any other threat so far. For 300 million years, this monster had been sleeping, unsure of its victory against the other threats that loomed on the Earth, but now that many of those threats had been eliminated, the beast decided to end its slumber. It opened its eye, a bright red glow that was strong enough to crack the ice it was encased in. With a single thrust, it broke free of its confinements and burst from the ice. Once it was out in the open, one could see its unbelievably colossal size, towering at several hundred meters. This monster was clearly a lizard, with dark scaly skin, horns, sharp teeth, and a long reptilian tale. It was the Ancient King who had arrived, ready to fulfill his destiny and conquer the world.

After about an hour, this ancient monster continued stomped through the land unabated, his unbelievable power shaking the ground and breaking the sheets of ice on the mountains. "At last, my time to rise has come!" boomed the Ancient King, "With the elimination of the Sea King, the Subterranean King and their armies, there is no other army left to stop the Terror Lizard Clan from dominating the Earth!" The great lizard stopped when he felt a minor tickle on his cheek. He turned and saw several tiny weaponry lined up in the distance. The monster scoffed and resumed his march as the rockets fired at him, not even pricking the Ancient King.

Where conventional weaponry had failed, the attackers now turned to unconventional weaponry to save them, and that type of weaponry was provided to them by the Hero Association.

"The target is 1000 meters from Point Bravo!" Surveying the monster from his tank, the soldier radioed the incoming Hero Association jet that had been deployed. Along with the pilot, a Hero Association staff member was going over the limited data the Hero Association had acquired on this monster and how much distance it had covered. "I hear you," the staff member said, "We'll be there in a matter of seconds!" The employee looked at his watch and knew it was time. He looked at the pilot and gave him the thumbs up, signaling him to open the hatch door and unleash their payload.

Standing alone in the cargo area of the plane was the unconventional weaponry that'd been chosen to eliminate Ancient King. With a heavy wool coat to keep her warm, this short young lady remained silent as the hatch door opened below, dropping her down to the frigid air below them. As she plummeted to her seemingly imminent death, the woman removed her coat, revealing her black dress and short green hair coupled with a bright green aura around her, keeping her afloat. This was no ordinary woman: she was the second-highest ranking S-class hero, Tornado of Terror (otherwise known as Tatsumaki), and she was ready to finish this ordinary job and resume her day. You see, the Hero Association had a few monsters of their own.

The Ancient King noticed a bright green trail zip in front of him. Wondering what this was, he looked down and saw a young girl standing in front of him with an annoyed look on her face. "Oh? Is this the best resistance you puny humans could come with? Your specie's stupidity only proves your eradication is nece-"

Tatsumaki stopped listening to this boring monologue when she heard her phone ringing and answered it. "Hey, is this important? I'm in the middle of something."

Once she heard her new orders, her face contorted with rage. "What're you saying, come back?! You guys brought me all the way out to this frozen wasteland to fight this weirdo monster-"

The Ancient King's eyebrows scrunched down. What did she just say?! "Weirdo?" This kind of impertinence towards a monster of such status was unacceptable! "How dare you! I am the Ancient King, leader of the Terror Lizard Clan, ruler of the dinosaurs who once populated this planet-"

Tatsumaki could barely heard what the Hero Association were saying with this lizard talking so loudly, so she looked up at the Ancient King and yelled, "You, keep it down! I'm talking on the phone here!" The female esper hung up the phone and huffed out her nose. "This is getting ridiculous," muttered the hero, "Having to go around the world like this. I mean, who does he think he is?" Tornado of Terror glanced back at Ancient King, only to find his face a few feet away from her.

"Are you finished?" said the Ancient King. Tatsumaki didn't even blink. "So what, you're getting up in my face just to intimidate me? You expect me to start begging for mercy, maybe quiver in my shoes?"

"Your bravery will not last! Now prepare to die, you exasperating runt!" If there was one thing Tatsumaki hated above all, it was being called out for her short stature. "Who the hell are you calling a runt, toad?!" The Ancient King lifted his leg and stomped down on the ground. Before lifting his foot to see if she'd been killed, the monster's eyes caught her floating to her right, unharmed and still annoyed. "It appears you aren't just a little girl after all," yelled the monster, "But it doesn't matter! With a monster as powerful as myself, you might as well hope and pray for a meteor to strike, because that's the only thing that could possibly get rid of me!" Ancient King opened his mouth and prepared to fire a giant orange ball of energy at Tatsumaki.

"Is that so?" The S-class hero lifted her hand, and her body shimmered with an even brighter aura. The ground quickly began to quake, and suddenly a giant rock several hundred meters wide began floating in the air. The monster looked up and dissipated the energy ball in his mouth. "How's this for you?" Tatsumaki waved her hand up, lifting the rock directly above Ancient King, and with a swift swing of her hand, sent the giant boulder hurdling down at Ancient King.

As the monster saw this rock approaching him, it immediately brought back memories from an eternity ago: when his entire race had been brought to extinction hundreds of millions of years ago by an unexpected meteor. It was now Ancient King's turn to tremble with fear, and he screamed as the boulder slammed into him. He was helpless as his head was cracked open and his body exploded in a fiery explosion. A huge cloud of dust and fire was unleashed, and Tatsumaki put up a barrier to protect herself from the debris and the building heat.

After 15 seconds, the dust clouds began to clear, and Tatsumaki could see a giant hole with Ancient King's skeleton in the middle, chunks of his body and blood spread all across the land. "How about another 300 million year nap?" The Hero Association knew that no one could order the Tornado of Terror around: no one could control a monster.

* * *

After seeing the room both Hans and Walter had to grow and the way training allowed both heroes to release all the pent-up energy festering inside them, the two heroes had decided to come to the Hero Association training area once per day for several hours, where they'd continue to lift weights and spar against each other. Ever since they first came to this exercise room, not only did they find something they had in common and could do together, but it gave them a way to bond. With the hours of training they put in every day, they understood the fighting styles of one another and pushed each other to the very limits.

What made these training sessions more interesting was that they'd encountered Superalloy Darkshine at every session. Although they'd mostly kept to their own training regiments, the bodybuilder would occasionally spot the two heroes, give some advice on which exercises to do, and even engage in some friendly conversations with the two heroes. But today, Superalloy Darkshine decided to shake up their regular routine and do something a little more exhilarating.

In City A, the training room was filled with loud echoes and fists clashing. In the training arena, Hans, Walter and Superalloy Darkshine were duking it out in a free-for-all sparring match. The suggestion came from Superalloy Darkshine, who was curious to finally see how Hans and Walter fought in-person. Walter had informed the other two that he wouldn't be using his monofilament wires out of safety, although the way things were going now, it seemed that Walter was somewhat naked without them.

Walter rushed Hans and delivered a flurry of punches, which the hero blocked. Walter noticed Superalloy Darkshine run towards him, and put both his elbows up to block the hero's punch. The three heroes then began a three-way exchange of kicks and punches, with Darkshine holding the edge over the other two and Walter struggling to keep up.

"Grah!" The vampire jumped forward, spinning midair to gain momentum, and performed a spin kick on Darkshine's face. The hero grinned, but his breath shook when he saw that Darkshine's head didn't even move, nor did the hero look fazed. "Maybe you better stick to the wires," said Darkshine, "I'm not trying to be rude, but your muscles aren't there yet. With your wires, it'll make the spar more intense."

"Are you sure?" said Walter, "My wires might slice you apart."

"I believe he can handle it," added Hans. Superalloy Darkshine smiled at Hans and nodded back at Walter. The vampire shrugged his shoulders and extended his fingers, silently unleashing his wires. The hero's wires tightened themselves around the muscular hero's chest and expected there to be at least minor bleeding like with Hans. But it appeared Darkshine's muscle building gave him some sort of pseudo-armor that protected him from bleeding, and he gasped when he saw that Darkshine was able to withstand these wires with no damage. Even Hans couldn't help but gasp: his muscles could withstand objects that sharp?

Even though there appeared to be no significant damage to his body, Darkshine winced and let out a soft moan. "Man, those really sting," the bodybuilder said, "I give you props: that's the first weapon that's ever caused me to feel any type of pain."

"My wires can slice through steel like it's paper," muttered Walter, "But somehow you can handle it?"

"Like I said, I pump iron." Superalloy Darkshine flexed his muscles, releasing himself from Walter's wires. "My babies can handle anything."

"Pardon me." The heroes paused their training session when they saw a Hero Association staff member was awkwardly standing a few feet away from the heroes. "I just came to let you three know that an emergency summoning for all Class S heroes has been called. They need you right away!"

"An S-class hero meeting?" All three heroes gave each other confused glances, wondering what kind of issue or matter could be so drastic as to call all S-class heroes in for. "Let's go." The three heroes walked off the arena and followed the staff member's lead. After going down a flight of stairs and a long hallway, the three heroes entered a room.

"The other S-class heroes will be here shortly." The Hero Association staff member politely bowed and left the S-class heroes alone. Hans and Walter were surprised by the high-tech layout of the table, for the surface was like a computer screen, and all over the table were several graphs and charts with information about mysterious being attack rates, and in the center of the table was the map of the world with the most populated cities pinpointed in red. There were 21 seats for 21 heroes, although two of the seats was larger than the others. Superalloy Darkshine took one of the larger seats, so Hans and Walter took seats beside him and relaxed. "Hopefully this goes by quickly," said Walter, "I'd like to resume our training."

"Don't be so impatient, Walter," Hans replied, "There must be an important reason we are here, so it has to be urgent." Hans had no idea how right he was.

* * *

Hitting air. At Bang's dojo, Genos and Seras were only hitting air as they both attempted to attack Bang. Saitama had finally decided to come along for one of the training sessions Alucard and Seras had with Bang to see what kind of training they were doing, meaning Genos came along too, carrying his suitcase with his Arms Upgrades just in case he wanted to fight more seriously. At the suggestion of Alucard and Seras, the two disciples decided to test their growing strength and cooperation by going up against Bang. Unfortunately, things were not going well.

Seras attempted to strike Bang with several slashes and chops while Genos attacked beside with many quick jabs and punches, but the martial artist was able to evade both warriors with little trouble. As Alucard and Saitama watched, they noted that Genos and Seras should have been doing better.

"Dang, after hearing about them teaming up against that fish," said Saitama, "I would've expected them to be a mighty duo."

"Likewise. But it seems that Genos still does not warm up to the idea of combining forces with the policegirl, only doing so against the Deep Sea King out of desperation."

Even though both disciples were hitting nothing but air, Bang was nevertheless impressed by their tenacity, as well as the growth in power Seras was exhibiting. "You've improved quite a lot in the last few days," commented Bang, "If you keep it up, I might have to start being on my toes."

"Thank you, Bang." Seras jumped up to go behind Bang and attempted to elbow him in the back, but the martial artist dodged, leaving Genos in the vampire's path and forcing both to abruptly stop their momentum.

"Do not get in my path, Seras!" complained Genos.

"Sorry," replied the young vampire. The two teenagers focused back on Bang and simultaneously punched Bang in the face, but the aged martial artist arched his head back, looking up at the sky. He then grabbed the wrists of both S-class heroes and spun them around, causing them to perform multiple spins midair. For the finishing move, Bang swiftly jabbed both of them in the chest, sending them into the floor and knocking them down for the count.

"A job very well done." Bang walked up to the two teenagers and extended his hands to help them up. Seras took it without question, but Genos refused it and pushed himself back up. "Like I said, you both are very impressive."

"Yea, but still not impressive enough to stand up to you," stated Seras. She then put her hands to her hips and looked around the dojo. "You know, for a martial artist as skilled and as powerful as you are, you don't seem to have too many disciples."

"She has a point." Alucard stepped towards Bang, having noticed this same oddity as well but never touching upon it until now. "Why is that?"

"Yes," continued Genos, "I had heard your dojo was teeming with talented and youthful students."

The aged martial artist lowered his head, closing his eyes as he usually did when he remembered what Garou did to his students. "That is true. I used to have dozens upon dozens of students learning the values of martial arts and eager to learn, but one day, my top disciple went on a rampage, beating my most skilled students mercilessly to the point that they're all out of commission. After that, the remaining students ran away in fear, which while understandable is still disappointing."

Alucard quivered with indignation. "Do you happen to know why he did such a despicable thing?"

"According to my second strongest disciple, he wanted to have a real fight and engaged all of them in a bloody brawl." Alucard's anger boiled over: one of the most sickening things to him was when people rampaged without purpose, simply for the pleasure of it.

Saitama, however, was intrigued at this disciple's power. "Is he really as strong as you're making him out to be? What's his name."

"Garou. Even though he was my best student at the time, I gave him a nasty beating and expelled him from the dojo."

"As you should have done for such a contemptible act," replied Alucard.

"Master Bang, there's someone here to see you!" Charanko called out to his master, and when the heroes turned, they saw not only Charanko, but a man with a suit was there, his tie loosened around him, panting and sweating like he just ran from a marathon, which considering the number of stairs leading to Bang's dojo, wasn't far off from the truth. "Mr. Silver Fang! The Hero Association has called you! All Class-S heroes are to report to headquarters for an emergency meeting immediately!" The man noticed the other three S-class heroes standing besides him. "Hold up! Mr. Genos, Ms. Seras, and Mr. Alucard! You're all out here as well! What a relief, and what perfect timing! Please come as well!"

Genos squinted his eyes, looming over what this could mean. "Why did they call us in? Is there a threat that has reached Dragon-level?"

"Whatever it might be, it's undoubtedly a serious matter," added Alucard, "A meeting with all Class-S heroes is no joke."

"Correct." Bang flexed his arms behind his back and walked to the door. "Charanko, look after the dojo while I am away."

"Be careful, Master, and good luck!"

"Saitama." Alucard waved his hand at Saitama. "If all Class S heroes are being summoned, it is most definitely something that you should accompany us with."

"That's right," continued Seras, "Won't you come?"

The bald hero looked at both vampires and smiled, his typical boring eyes now hardened and orange with fire. "Sure: I don't have anything better to do."

* * *

After about thirty minutes of running, the four Class-S heroes and Saitama had made it to the Hero Association headquarters in City A and were currently on their way to the meeting room. What went ignored by Alucard was that ever since he entered the building, he felt some sort of... prickling in his spine. It was as if his body was trying to send him some sort of danger signal, but Alucard thought relatively little of it. After walking up to the 30th floor of the building, the five heroes went through a sliding door, and on the other side of this door, there was a middle-aged man with a hooded red cloak and a white robe tied with a white sash. Upon seeing him, Alucard could already sense that this was no ordinary man. "Who is he, Bang?" asked Alucard.

"That is Atomic Samurai, Class S, Rank 4, directly below me." Alucard's lips immediately curved up into a smile, pleased to meet another immensely powerful human. Likewise, when Atomic Samurai heard footsteps and saw Bang, his lips also curved into a smile. "Hey there, Silver Fang."

"Atomic Samurai. It's been too long, my friend."

"It makes sense that you're here today. And I see you're with some of the new S-class heroes."

The No-Life King took the first initiative and presented his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet another strong human like yourself." Atomic Samurai grasped the monster's hand and grinned. "The feeling is mutual."

The King of Vampires abruptly stopped when his senses picked up on something. Atomic Samurai raised his eyebrows up and lowered his head so he could look Alucard directly in the eye. "Alucard? Are you alright?"

"Master?" The female vampire noticed Alucard unnaturally pausing and lightly grabbed her master's shoulder. "What's wrong."

"It's nothing." Alucard's continued look of seriousness indicated that the opposite was true. "Saitama, come with me for a moment. I need to speak with you."

"Huh?" The bald hero flashed an uneasy look at Genos and Alucard, but still decided to accompany Alucard. All four heroes were looking at Alucard as if he was insane. When they were approaching the end of the hallway, Saitama whispered in Alucard's ear. "What's going on?"

"I sense someone. Someone... familiar, and I might need your assistance."

* * *

In the meeting room, almost all the S-class heroes had already arrived. Some of them greeted Hans and Walter, while others simply ignored them. As the heroes came in, both were surprised by the variety of heroes that made up Class S and the unique features each one of them had. However, Hans was beginning to feel uneasy. As a werewolf, he was blessed with heightened senses and built-in instincts that warned him when something was not right, and at the moment, he felt there was some sort of monster very close by. His nostrils were being with the scent of something demonic, and his instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong.

Walter noticed Hans' tense attitude and tapped his arm. "Hans? What's wrong with you?" The werewolf got up from his seat and proceeded to the door, causing everyone to look up at the hero. He quickly addressed himself to the other S-class heroes. "Excuse me for a moment. I'll be right back."

"Hans, what the..." Hans exited the room, and Walter quickly got up to join him. "I'll go help him. It won't take long." The vampire exited the room and caught up with Hans, who had his fists clenched and his teeth bared. "What's gotten into you?"

"I sense a monster. I think I sense... Alucard."

* * *

The bald hero didn't understand what Alucard meant. The King of Vampires had extremely heightened senses that allowed him to sense supernatural activity, and at the moment, he was sensing the presence of two people he never thought he'd encounter here of all places. Alucard pushed through the door and raced down the hallway, with Saitama trailing behind him. "Alucard, I don't understand, who are you sensing?"

"A foe and a former friend. Both are some of the most powerful foes I've ever seen, beyond you."

"Really?" This got Saitama's attention, and he managed to crack a smile. "Maybe they'll give me a challenge."

"Don't count on it. You're still stronger than both." The bald hero's smile disappeared, and he let out a huff. The two heroes made a right turn at the corner of the hallway, and when Alucard saw who was on the opposite end of the hallway, he froze. On the other side of the hallway, both Hans and Walter froze as well. Both sides were silent: tension was building, coiling around them and pushing them down like a burst of gravity. So much intensity and pressure formed, previous anger and frustration against the other side for their actions, hatred against the other, and burned bridges. It was like a volcano full of molten magma that was about to explode.

Saitama could quickly tell that these were the two guys Alucard was talking about, but didn't know how this would turn out. However, he had a pretty good idea of what Alucard would do. "Now wai-"

The Impaler prepared to live up to his title and lunged at the two monsters with his fingers extended and ready to stab, while Hans and Walter were equally ready to tear Alucard to pieces. But before this volcano of tension and hatred could burst, Saitama went into action and put himself between both sides, extending his hands out to stop any excessive violence. "Whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Saitama, "Now there's no need to get physical!"

"And just what kind of impudent gnat are you," replied Walter, "Getting in the way of two Class S heroes?"

Hans slightly softened his hardened face when he had a proper chance to analyze this hero's face, quickly recognizing who this was. "It's you! The Class C hero who destroyed the meteor in City Y!" When he heard this, Walter was stunned. "What? The rank jumper who takes credit for the work done by Class S here with Alucard?"

Alucard derisively laughed. "Rank jumper? Don't be a fool, no matter how difficult it might be for you. This man is the most powerful being I have ever met and the only one who actually defeated me as a human! His final blows that are "cheap shots" are just the media twisting the facts, making the masses believe the threat when already taken care of, when in actuality, the meteor was practically undamaged by the efforts of the other Class S heroes."

"Ok, hold up!" Saitama still wanted his questions answered, and he wasn't getting answers from anyone so far. "Just who the hell are you guys?"

"That," Alucard pointed at Walter first with a venomous gaze, "Is the same butler of the Hellsing Organization that betrayed us and tried to kill me." The Nightwalker next pointed to Hans with a more indifferent but still hostile look, "And he is the second-in-command of Millennium, the organization that killed the populace of London. He is a werewolf with amazing strength and uncanny speed and reflexes. Why either of them are here, I have no idea."

"Master, where are you?" Genos and Seras decided to see what was going on and told Bang and Atomic Samurai to go on ahead. When Seras went around the corner, she felt the breath leave her body. She'd always been wondering what had happened to Walter, where he might've been transported to on the planet and what he might have been doing, and here she was, alongside a man with a trenchcoat and white hair she'd seen on the battlefield who confronted Alucard and Anderson. Although she knew almost nothing about him, what she did know was that he was a very powerful opponent who could jump several hundred feet without a scratch and kick off her master's head with a single kick, meaning he wasn't one to be trifled with. But what could those two possibly be doing together?

When Walter saw Seras in the hallway looking at her with those big eyes, she felt like a fist closed around his heart. So she was with Alucard. He should've expected this much: after all, this was the price he paid for betraying Hellsing. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less.

"Master, are you alright? Why are you with Hans and Walter?" said Genos.

When Genos called out these two heroes who'd only been introduced a few seconds ago by their names, everyone in the hallway looked at Genos as if he was some sort of psychic, especially for knowing the name of the werewolf that not even Alucard knew. "Genos, how do you know their names?" asked a baffled Seras.

"They were on the Hero Association website," replied Genos.

"The Hero Association website?" Once Alucard put the pieces together, all it did was make the image even more blurred. None of what was happening made sense. "Do you mean to say that you two have also become heroes of the Hero Association?"

"Correct," stated Hans, "We have not done any villainous activities and have protected City A diligently as Class S heroes."

"So you're heroes?" Both Genos and Seras approached the group, and all six heroes were now huddled in the hallway. Genos attempted to clear up the missing details. "I can already guess you're the same Walter who betrayed Alucard and Seras, but who is your associate, and how are you acquainted with them?"

"He's the trump card of Millennium, the organization I told you about before," said Alucard, "and he's a werewolf." This following statement caught Saitama, Seras and Genos completely off guard. A werewolf? Not only were there vampires in the reality of Alucard and Seras, but there were werewolves? "Are you serious?" a stunned Saitama inquired.

"Yes. And you are Genos, a newly recruited S-class hero," Hans said.

"Enough!" The King of Vampires sliced both his hands across the air, silencing everyone in the hallway. "Unless both of you explain what you are doing as here as S-class heroes, I will tear both of you to shreds!"

Walter's anger swelled up in him, and he prepared to release his Monofilament wires. But before either side could initiate conflict, it was Hans this time who decided to step in and be the voice of reason, which was rare considering he rarely chose to have a voice at all. For the werewolf, he still had the Class S meeting as one of his top priorities, and wanted to do his part as an S-class hero by being there. For him, it was part of the path he's chosen to walk down. But right now, these four and the hostility they were bringing was obstructing that path, and he didn't want that. "I understand there are many unanswered questions. I know you four are curious as to why we chose to be heroes, and I am equally curious as to how you all became acquainted with each other, as well as how powerful Alucard claims Saitama is, but right now is not the time for conflict or long explanations. We were all called in for an emergency Class S meeting, and all the heroes are waiting for us right now."

Hans proceeded to stare directly into Alucard's eyes with his typical hardened expression. "Once we are done, you can demand to know all the answers to questions you have about us, and if you still find us as enemies, then so be it. But for now, I am asking you for patience. Do you think you can manage?" Hans didn't just mean Alucard. "That goes for you too, Walter. Hold your rage for now, until this is over."

The three trump cards maintained their stoic gazes for what seemed like an eternity. Genos had his incineration cannon ready, and Saitama was also on his toes. None of them knew what decision Alucard or Walter would make. Would it end peacefully, or would it be a bloodbath? They all waited in nervous anticipation.

At last, Alucard was the one who lowered his hands and nominally softened his face, prompting Walter to do the same. Genos also stopped his incineration cannon, while Saitama loosened his body and Seras breathed a sigh of relief. "Very well. I will not engage in battle. But," Alucard once again pointed his finger at Walter, causing the vampiric butler to scowl, "This does not mean I will not punish you for your betrayal. I intend to make you pay for your cowardice and defiling your once beautiful body."

"So be it," replied Walter. The two male vampires grudgingly ceded to the werewolf's request and suppressed their desires to kill one another. "Let's return back to the meeting room. Hans and I know the way. Follow us." Walter took the lead and began to walk down the hallway, with Hans following about a foot behind him and the other four bunched together.

Saitama whispered in Alucard's ear. "Like Hank said, just try and keep your cool. If Wallace decides to make a drastic move, I'll take care of it."

"Very well. But don't let your guard down. They are still not to be trusted."

"Agreed," replied Genos. Like Alucard, Genos grew quick suspicions against these two and did not trust them to maintain their composure, believing both of them to be planning some sort of nefarious plan. "Master, be prepared for anything."

After a short walk down the hallway, the six heroes made it back to the meeting room, where the rest of the S-class heroes were looking at them, observing three of these heroes for the first time. At the same time, Alucard immediately looked at all of the heroes, taking each of them, practically desperate to know how many other humans out there had become stronger without abandoning their humanity and themselves. There were at least 14 people in this room, and each one of them was unique in their own way, only serving to interest Alucard even more. One was a complete machine like Genos, while another was a child, and many more individuals who radiated power. He had to get to know these heroes more after this meeting and after dealing with Hans and Walter.

"Please hurry and take a seat." Standing at the end of the table near the door was a middle aged man with a bulbous nose and gray hair parted to the right. He worse a brown business suit with a white shirt and red tie, and by the look on his face, he clearly meant business. "We don't have any time to lose."

Hans and Walter sat back in their original seats next to Superalloy Darkshine, while the other four seated themselves at the other far end of the table. Saitama, being the apathetic and easygoing hero he was, decided to make him self as comfortable as he could. "Can I have some tea please." One of the Hero Association staff members did as Saitama asked and began fetching some tea.

The man in the suit was mildly irritated at Saitama's nonchalant attitude, considering that he was a Class B hero at a Class S meeting, but decided to ignore it. "With the final five Class S heroes here now and with Blast and Metal Knight unable to attend the meeting, we can finally begin." The staff member gave Saitama the tea while the man in the suit was speaking, and Saitama thanked him before focusing back to the suited man.

"Beginning introductions, my name is Sitch, and I am a high-ranking official of the Hero Association. Now let's get right down to brass tacks. You are all in Class S because you are the best of the best, the rare few in society whose power stands atop to protect the population. And now-" Sitch slammed his hands down on the table, "The Hero Association is asking all of you to stand and rise to protect humanity! But before I continue, I want to let you know that you do have a choice. The gravity of this meeting is extremely high, even for Class S heroes like you, and I cannot guarantee any of you your survival. So for any of you who do not want to face such high risks, you're given the option of leaving. Any of you who accept this option will still retain their Class S ranking, but for those of you who choose to stay, you will not be allowed to leave this room until we are fully aware of how to control the situation. With that in mind, are all of you ready to hear this?"

The King of Vampires stole some glances at all of the heroes, excluding those he knew, waiting to see if any of them might show their true colors and run away from this out of fear for their lives. To his relief, none of the Class S heroes even moved a finger in fear, although some of them were still frustrated with Sitch. One of those people was Metal Bat, a Class S Rank 20 hero who fought with his trademark metal bat. "Ok, let's just get straight to the point. Whatever kind of threat we're dealing with, it'd better be worth all of us coming here out of nowhere. I was forced to leave my little sister's piano recital for this, and she was crushed by it. If it turns out to be a waste of time," Metal Bat tightened the grip on his bat, "Then I'm gonna bring this whole building down."

Tatsumaki was annoyed by Metal Bat's annoying rambling. "Yea, I'd like to see you try and do that with that tiny stick of yours."

Metal Bat's pupils disappeared, and his teeth comedically sharpened. "Oh yea? How about I use it to crack open your head like a coconut?!"

Now it was Tatsumaki's pupils that disappeared and give Metal Bat a hateful stare. "If you think you've got the guts to do it, bring it on!"

"Come on!" Seras slammed her hand on the table, shocked at the complete immaturity and disrespect she was seeing among these Class S heroes. And she thought Genos was bad! "We were brought in to try and handle this threat, not to hear you complain and insult one another! If all of us were brought in, it means it's extremely important! So pay attention, both of you!"

Both Class S heroes stopped looking at each other and hatefully stared at Seras, a heat of anger quickly building up. But before it could expand any further, both heroes decided to not let things get out of hand and sat back in their seats. At first, Alucard's eyes opened up in shock, but his eyes relaxed and he smiled widely. He proceeded to pat Seras on the back and whispered to her, "Very well done." Saitama also bent backward and gave a thumbs up to Seras behind the chair. Seras beamed with pleasure and relaxed in her chair.

Sitch was equally pleased that she defused the situation. "Thank you, Seras. Now, let me tell you the dire news: Madame Shibabawa is dead."

This news elicited a few gasps from the heroes, who were aware of Madame Shibabawa's clairvoyance and its accuracy. One of the S-class heroes, Zombieman, spoke up. "Madame Shibabawa? Was she murdered?"

"No. Unfortunately, while predicting the future of the next six months, she saw something that stressed her greatly and gave her a bad coughing fit. She tried to alleviate the coughing with a cough drop, but she choked on it, tragically ending her life."

Superalloy Darkshine felt that he had caught on to what Sitch was saying. "So what you brought us here for is to find a way to handle disasters without the help of her fortune telling."

Sadly for Darkshine, this was not what Sith was getting at. "Incorrect. The Hero Association has only used Madame Shibabawa's predictions on a handful of occasions."

While Sitch continued to explain the situation, Saitama leaned over into Puri-Puri Prisoner's ear and asked him, "Hey you there. Man. Who's this madame Shibabawa he's talking about?" At the same time, Hans also nudged Superalloy Darkshine on the shoulder and asked him the same question.

Once Puri-Puri Prisoner realized that Saitama was talking to him, he turned to him with slight surprise. "You haven't heard of her?" Both Seras and Alucard inclined forward to hear what the homosexual Class S hero was saying. "She's an extremely talented seer who has been able to predict many monster attacks and natural disasters."

"She's this really famous seer who's been able to make alot of neat predictions," Superalloy Darkshine replied to Hans at the same time, while Walter inched towards the bodybuilder to hear him. The rest of the heroes turned their attention back to Sitch. "The Hero Association has not consistently relied on Madame Shibabawa's predictions in order to properly defend against monster attacks, but the few times in which she has made her predictions, they have been extremely accurate and reliable. It is because of this that we provided her with a bodyguard and many other personal concessions. However, getting to the crux of the problem," Sitch took a folded piece of paper out of his inner pocket, "On this piece of paper is Madame Shibabawa's final and most dire prophecy, written during her last breaths while choking on that cough drop." He put the paper face-down on the table, where it began scanning the writing to project it in the air. "This is a prediction that will undoubtedly come to pass." The letter was projected in the air, where the reading said, "The Earth is in trouble!"

Most of the heroes repeated the words on the letter with wide eyes and lifted eyebrows. But that didn't mean that all of the heroes accepted the gravity of what this statement meant. "The Earth is in trouble?" said Walter, "What kind of prediction is that?"

"If that's all, can I go now," spoke the 10 year-old S-class hero known as Child Emperor, "I've got cram school to finish."

"Please try and understand the gravity of this last letter. The fact that do cannot grasp the potency of this goes to prove how immature you really are."

Both Walter and Child Emperor simmered with frustration, while Alucard softly chuckled. "Well-noted, Sitch," muttered the Son of the Dragon. "Is that so?" replied Walter.

"How dare you!" added Child Emperor.

Sitch attempted to simmer their anger and put his hand up to both of them. "Temper your frustrations. It is important to understand that Madame Shibabawa's predictions have not only been accurate, but 100% accurate. When she's made her prediction of monster attacks, tidal waves and other threats, she never once felt they were dangerous enough to describe them as "trouble." That means that something stronger than a Dragon-level threat is coming: a disaster level God threat. And that threat will arrive some time within the next six months!"

Overall, based on everything they had been told so far, most of the heroes were not particularly impressed by what they had been told or knew what they could even do about it.

The S-class Rank 12 hero, Watchdog Man, was the first of the heroes to speak. "So... that means we'd be sitting here waiting until the threat finally came?"

"Planning for that doesn't seem very easy or cost-effective," added the S-class Rank 13 hero, Flashy Flash.

"Your observations are duly noted and correct," replied Sitch, "But nevertheless, you all now know that a threat is coming within these coming months, and I am asking all of you now to be prepared for the arduous battle that lays ahead."

"So if I'm getting this right," All the S-class heroes questionably looked at the odd man out who decided to finally speak. "This huge threat is gonna be here in the next six months, which could mean today or tomorrow, right?"

Sitch's lips pursed into a tight line. "Technically, that's correct. Who are you anyway."

"Sitch," Alucard said, "This is the hero you are lucky to have today. All of you." Most of the S-class heroes looked at each other, trying to understand what the hell Alucard was talking about, but for the few people in the room who knew Saitama in-person, they all smiled, being in complete agreement with Alucard's statement.

All of a sudden, everyone in the room felt a huge rumbling knock them off balance. Many of the heroes stood up and began to panic.

"The building is under attack!" Genos said.

"No way!" Superalloy Darkshine argued, "This is the Hero Association headquarters! What kind of enemy would be dumb enough to attack us head-on like this?"

From outside the building, citizens looked on with dread as they saw the proud building that stood as their guardian being attacked and smoking in several places. Outside the Hero Association headquarters, hovering in the sky for everyone to see and run from, a red birdlike being with wings was flying above the headquarters, attacking it with several energy blasts from his mouth.

The avian creature cackled as he fired another ball of energy at the building. "My my, it appears that the filthy humans are able to make some very durable buildings." Diving down from above him, four more of these birdlike humanoids joined the attacking monster, who was in fact their king. "The time to strike has come! Hawk, Eagle, Falcon, and Kite!"

The four monsters shouted in unison. "ARRR!"

"Dispose of these human "heroes", and once they are taken care of, there will be no humans remaining who will be threats to our plans to conquer the land below!" The red monster's smile widened, showing his sharp teeth and sadism. "We will dive in head-first! Now attack with me, the Sky King! FLY!" The Sky King straightened his body and shot down for the headquarters, but his servants did not join him. The Sky King stopped his descent when he heard Eagle's weak voice calling out to him. "Above us, your majesty." His four servants lost all their energy and fell to the ground with blood spewing out from their bodies. "Fly away..." Alas, it was too late for the Sky King, and he felt it.

"It can't be. The mighty Sky King eliminated like a tiny insect. What kind of..." Those were his last words before his body was split down the middle and he fell to the ground with the rest of his subjects. Flying in the sky was the even more dangerous foe, a gigantic extraterrestrial with pale gray skin, five heads, and an axe for a hand, which had blood on it now. This monster's strength went far above the realm of Demon, entering the domain of Dragon. The five heads appeared to cooperate for control of the body, each of them in charge for different thought processes and emotions of the monster.

"What was that?"

"It was flying, so we killed it."

"That is good."

"Duty: protect the ship at all costs." The sky was full of all kinds of new threats today, and hovering above this monster was an absolutely colossal purple spaceship that was covering nearly all of City A. For a few seconds, the spaceship stayed motionless in the sky. Then, the outer edges of the ship began to glow bright purple, and suddenly, the entire area below the spaceship was bombarded with hundreds of shells. The city didn't stand a chance: in mere seconds, more than 90% of City A had been decimated, reduced to rubble.

However, thanks to Metal Knight's genius, the Hero Association headquarters was able to withstand the shells from the spacecraft, and none of the Class S heroes were injured. At the same time, none of the heroes inside even knew what the hell just happened to City A.

"What in the blazes was that?" Sitch touched the table and began to pull up statistics on what happened to City A. But when he saw what City A had been reduced to, he felt a fuse go off in this head. "No, no... This can't be happening. The destruction of City A is 99.8 percent!" The staff member grabbed his head and panicked. "How can Madame Shibabawa's prediction have come true so quickly?! We had no time to react!"

"Hold on." Child Emperor didn't think rushing to conclusions to this was the best decision before knowing what they were up against. "Don't be so sure. All of us should go outside to survey the situation and confirm whether or not this is Madame Shibabawa's true prophecy."

Way ahead of the young child prodigy, the bald B-class hero bent his knees and shot straight up through the many levels of the headquarters and all the way up to the roof of the headquarters. Alucard was the first to notice this and ran up to the hole. "Genos, Seras, come on."

The two young disciples noticed Alucard near the hole and quickly put the pieces together. Genos grabbed his suitcase, and the three S-class heroes followed Saitama's lead and leapt up through his hole until they all reached the roof. "Saitama?" exclaimed Alucard.

"Hey guys." The three heroes took note of Saitama standing at the edge of the roof, and took even bigger note of the gargantuan spaceship hovering over the city. "You guys see that thing? It's freaking big!"

"Are they... aliens?" asked Seras.

"Why don't we go find out?" Alucard paced up to Saitama, and the four heroes now stood side-by-side. "Let's see what's inside," said Saitama, "Let me go first so I can try and make a safe path," said Saitama, "And you guys follow behind me."

The three heroes firmly nodded. Genos prepared his boosters on his feet, while Seras unmorphed her arm to form a wing and Alucard's trenchcoat began to glow bright red and black. "Hopefully, none of the citizens will be able to see my arm with all their attention on the destruction of the city." She looked down at the devastation laid by the ship and forced back a gasp. To think that there were monsters who could so callously eliminate the inhabitants of an entire city. It was sickening.

"Well, here goes." Saitama bent his knees and jumped into the sky. For a second, he was simply floating in the air. But then, Saitama noticed a bright purple flash from the ship: from that bright flash came a large metal bullet that tried to crush Saitama, but the hero casually dodged the bullet midair. "So that's what they used to blast the city apart."

Half of more flashes came form the ship: the aliens attempted to make quick work of the hero and thought six would be enough. They would quickly be proven wrong, as the hero found it simple to dodge these bullets midair, also using the bullets as a surface to jump from and keep himself in the air. After easily avoiding the bullets, he began to feel irritated and chose not to dodge the following bullets, instead splitting apart with a kick. "Enough with these things! Get lost!" The bald hero kicked the bullet back at the ship, creating a large hole in the ship. Saitama saw that hole and propelled himself up to enter the hole. By that time, the bald hero was so far away, a regular person wouldn't even have been able to see his yellow jumpsuit. But Alucard, Seras and Genos were not ordinary people.

Genos activated his sensors and targeted Saitama's energy, while Alucard and Seras took a deep breath and activated their third eyes to get a more accurate view of Saitama. The three jumped up and soared through the sky. In response, a dozen shells reigned fire from the spaceship. The heroes noticed this and took quick evasive maneuvers to dodge the bullets. The three S-class heroes managed to avoid all the bullets, and in a few seconds, all three heroes reunited with Saitama on the ship.

"Alright, we all made it."

"So do we have any sort of game plan?" asked Seras.

Alucard had a clear game plan in mind, and it was something all of the heroes would likely agree upon. "We'll search the ship, find the leader, and eliminate him before he can cause anymore damage or order his soldiers to attack the other cities."

"Sounds good to me," replied Saitama. The two other S-class heroes did not appear to have a problem with that, and began to make their way into the labyrinth of the spaceship, unaware of the frightening dangers that roamed the ship, ready to sink their teeth into intruders.

* * *

About 5 seconds after Alucard, Seras and Genos jumped aboard the ship, Hans and Walter came through the hole Saitama had made and were looking down at the rubble that was once City A. For both heroes, they were unfortunately used to this sort of carnage and destruction after having fought for so many years, and only mildly frowned in response.

"Those foes have quite some firepower," Walter stated, "We must conduct a search through the city and make sure there are no invaders lurking the city."

Hans nodded and did a quick look through the city. After a few seconds of searching, he gasped when he saw a giant pale creature flying in the sky. "Walter, over there." Hans pointed to the creature, and Walter saw who his comrade was referring to. The werewolf soon realized that this creature was descending. He calculated where this creature would be landing based on its angle of descent, and when he saw where his landing spot would be, he felt his heart stop: in the distance, Hans could see the faint outline of a human several hundred meters away. "That creature's aiming for a citizen! Let's go!"

Hans jumped as hard and fast as he possibly could in the direction of the two civilians, with Walter following right behind him, both of them knowing that they had maybe less than 30 seconds to reach them in time.

In the middle of all this death and destruction, one father had managed to avoid his demise, and was trying to push away some rubble to get to his son, who had also been lucky enough to survive this devastation. The man felt his heart do a flip when he saw his son hiding beneath concrete with watery eyes but no other noticeable damage.

"Dad!"

"It's going to be alright, son." The father reached his hand out to his child. "Take my hand, and I'll pull you up!" The young boy took his father's hand, and the father pulled him up as fast as he could. As soon as he was in his father's arms, the child broke down, the anguish from everything that had happened too much for him to keep bottled up inside.

"What is this?" The two civilians looked up, and felt the blood drain from their bodies when they saw a hulking monstrosity with five heads and five pairs of red eyes targeting them.

"It seems some of the insects survived."

"The bombardment did not kill them all."

"But we will."

"That is good."

"Worms." The fifth head talked to the two civilians. "We are Melzargard, and today is your demise!" The Dragon-level monster lifted his left hand, and his fingers stretched out to slice the two people into pieces, but then, a powerful kick to the monster's right side stopped him from finishing them off and knocked the monster to the ground.

Hans sighed in relief: he'd made it just in the nick of time. He jumped off of Melzargard's body and near the two citizens. "Leave now!" said Hans. The father carried his son and ran as fast as he could from Melzargard, hoping and praying that he and his son would be able to escape with their lives. Hans stiffened his body and took a fighting stance against Melzargard. The monster pushed himself off of the ground and looked at Hans.

"This foe is formidable."

"We will make sure to have fun with him."

"Tear him limb from limb."

"That is-" A flurry of blue wires appeared around Melzargard. The monster did not understand what these things were, and in no time flat, the wires sliced through Melzargard's body, splitting him into dozens upon dozens of pieces. The vampire casually jumped up next to Hans, confidently smirking with his arms crossed in arrogance. "The Angel of Death silences his next victim."

The ground began to rumble, and the pieces of Melzargard began to clump together and float in the air. The vampire's muscles went rigid like Hans, and both were shocked when they saw this monster reform its body in seconds, except this time, instead of having five heads, only a single head with five pairs of eyes was created. Melzargard's fingers were curled up, and he smiled as the thrill of the battle that had become so foreign to him was now pulsing in his veins. "Excellent! It seems not all the lifeforms on this planet are complete filth! I urge you to withstand our invasion."

Walter and Hans caught on. "So you've arrived from outer space to lay waste to our world?" Walter said, "I must say, it is extremely rare to find a monster with such potent regenerative skills. But in the end, Walter C. Dornez will cut you down like so many monsters before." While Walter was boasting about his title, Hans removed his trenchcoat and hat and hung them on a steel pole hanging from one of the destroyed buildings.

"And he won't do it alone." The vampire and werewolf turned to see the elderly man from the Class S meeting had come to fight alongside them. "You can count me in. And don't forget about him either."

Melzargard picked up on the sound of rapid foot movement approaching him. "You monster! The deaths of all the beautiful men of this city are on your hands, and I will avenge their deaths through yours!" Puri-Puri Prisoner ran off a high rock and jumped into the sky. As he floated in the air, he unleashed his full power once again, tearing apart all of his clothes, and this time, instead of white angel wings, an obsidian pair of angel wings burst from his back. This change of color was the mark the Deep Sea King left on the S-class hero and the important lesson he'd learned from his defeat. "As he said," thought Puri-Puri Prisoner, "Each separate attack must be delivered with intent to kill."

"DARK ANGEL RUSH!"

* * *

Fights raged below the ship and inside the ship, but sitting in the middle of the ship, underneath a very large and purple core that powered the ship, the leader of the band of aliens sat in his throne: Lord Boros. This extraterrestrial was a very tall, cyclops-like alien with light pink, spiky hair with bangs that frame his face, sharp teeth and pointed ears, which are adorned with multiple earrings. He had one large blue eye and light blue skin with dark blue crack-shaped markings that started from his eye and cover most of his body. He wore some sort of golden armor with spikes on his shoulder and forearm, coupled with matching curved boots.

At the moment, Lord Boros was doing nothing except waiting and feeling the large vibrations that shook the ship. Whatever had come on-board, it was powerful.

* * *

 _Boom! It looks like Saitama won't be alone when he enters the Space Invader's ship! Now that's got to leave you wondering what's going to happen now? Who's going to fight who? How will it turn out? All of these questions will be answered in Chapter 21 of Monstrum Hominis! For those who might be wondering why the Ancient King scene was different, the way Tatsumaki killed Ancient King was the way Murata originally wanted the animators to create the scene, and the meteor scene was only supposed to be a flashback. Tatsumaki wasn't supposed to summon a meteor from space, only lift a very large rock nearby to drop onto the Ancient King. The animators simply misinterpreted Murata's intentions. So I decided to honor that and killed the Ancient King in the way he was meant to. On another note, here are some more facts for the story!_

 _Monstrum Hominis Encyclopedia:_

 _S-Class Current order:_

 _#1: Blast_

 _#2: Tornado of Terror_

 _#3: Silver Fang_

 _#4: Atomic Samurai_

 _#5: Child Emperor_

 _#6: Metal Knight_

 _#7: King_

 _#8: Zombieman_

 _#9: Drive Knight_

 _#10: Pig God_

 _#11: Superalloy Darkshine_

 _#12: Watchdog Man_

 _#13: Flashy Flash_

 _#14:_ _Hans_

 _#15:_ _Walter_

 _#16:_ _Metal Bat_

 _#17: Genos_

 _#18:_ _Seras_

 _#19: Alucard_

 _#20: Tanktop Master_

 _#21: Puri-Puri Prisoner_

 _Hero Ratings:_

* * *

 _Hans_

Ability Type: Physical

Stamina: 9

Intelligence: 7

Justice: 7

Endurance: 9

Power: 9

Popularity: 7

Effectiveness: 8

Fighting Ability: 9

Total: 64

* * *

Walter

Ability Type: Weapons

Stamina: 8

Intelligence: 7

Justice: 4

Endurance: 8

Power: 9

Popularity: 7

Effectiveness: 9

Fighting Ability: 8

Total: 59

* * *

Alucard

Ability Type: Mixed

Stamina: 9

Intelligence: 7

Justice: 5

Endurance: 9

Power: 9

Popularity: 7

Effectiveness: 8

Fighting Ability: 8

Total: 62

* * *

Seras

Ability Type: Physical

Stamina: 8

Intelligence: 6

Justice: 9

Endurance: 8

Power: 8

Popularity: 7

Effectiveness: 7

Fighting Ability: 8

Total: 61


	21. The Dragon Matter Thieves

_Hey! Chapter 21 is up! Just a quick heads-up: this chapter is gonna be a lot shorter than my recent chapters, so it's going against a trend. Anyway, I hope you still enjoy it, and bear witness to the amazing fights that will take place now!_

* * *

"DARK ANGEL RUSH!" With killing intent running his attacking style, Puri-Puri Prisoner unleashed his dark flurry of punches at Melzargard, creating large holes in the monster's body and yelling as loud as he could. After continuing this for a few seconds, the Class S hero jumped back, breathing heavily from the sheer energy invested in his technique.

The Dragon-level mysterious being's face, chest and arms had giant holes in them. Puri-Puri Prisoner expected his blows to be fatal, but to his shock, Melzargard morphed and regrew the holes with his malleable body. The Class S hero grunted and raised his fists in defense.

"Be cautious!" yelled Hans, trying to give them all the advice he could based on what he'd seen so far and ensure none of them made a slip-up. "It's regenerative abilities are extremely advanced, and it has very high durability! Be on your toes, or else you may be dealt a fatal blow!" Melzargard smiled and lifted his fist up towards Puri-Puri Prisoner.

The elder martial artist went into action and rushed near the homosexual S-class hero, light blue trails emitting from his hands and the rest of his body. "Looks like I'll be using this move for the second time in a while." Bang struck Melzargard's arm with a light tap that was only strong enough to move the monster's hand to the right.

"Instantaneous Effect!" The martial artist jumped up to Melzargard's chest and performed a fast piercing attack. This attack was even more powerful than Hans' blow and sent the monster flying an even greater distance. The monster lifted his head and grimaced. It appeared this wouldn't be as easy as he thought. One-on-one, he would be able to deal with them easily, but with this many ganging up against him, especially with the well-dressed one's sharp wires, such meddlesome foes would force him to go on the defensive. This would be quite an interesting battle.

* * *

Only three minutes had passed, and the four heroes were already having no trouble exploring the ship. The various aliens who were gathered near the halls were extremely weak, and all the heroes were able to effortlessly eliminate them all so far. Once many of these aliens were killed, Alucard used his hemokinetic abilities to absorb the enemy's blood and increase his power. Seras chose not to consume any of the blood one, partly because it took too long for Seras to manually consume all of that blood, and she wasn't quite comfortable with doing it, even after consuming the blood of Pip Bernadotte. They'd killed more than three hundred aliens so far, although they weren't able to make substantial progress in finding the leader, and they weren't even sure if they were heading in the leader's direction.

Eventually, Seras decided to speak up about this problem. "Ok, hold up. This ship is too big to be wandering aimlessly like this." Saitama didn't seem perturbed by this, knowing that if they traveled fast enough, they'd eventually find the leader. However, none of the other heroes seemed as calm with this plan as Saitama, and wanted to take care of the threats as soon as possible.

"Perhaps it would be best to split up," suggested Genos. "That way, we could cover more ground and deal with the enemy resistance quicker."

"Good idea, Genos," replied Seras. She pointed to herself and Genos first. "Genos and I can go down this right hallway, and Master, you and Saitama can go down the left hallway."

"Are you positive about this?" said Alucard, "We do not know how powerful the enemies on this ship are."

"I've scanned the energy levels of these aliens: the highest ones so far have not been even half as powerful as Seras or me. However, I think I should go with Saitama, and Seras go with Alucard just to be safer."

"Come on, Genos." Seras playfully shoved Genos, "You and I can handle things together!"

Saitama shrugged his shoulders, seeing no problem with this suggestion and also seeing it as another chance for Seras and Genos to bond and be forced to work together. "She's right, Genos. You two've got this. Alucard and I will find the big boss and you guys can handle the rest." Saitama patted Genos on the back and moved him slightly forward to the left hallway. Genos looked at his master and respectfully nodded. "As you wish, master."

"Good luck, you two," Alucard commented, "And remember to be on your toes: you never know what kind of dangerous monsters might be lurking in the depths of this spaceship."

Seras respectfully nodded as well and smiled at the two masters. "We will. And Saitama, go make the leader pay for what they did to City A."

"Sure thing." Saitama gave Seras the thumbs up, and with that, the masters and the disciples each went their own separate ways, unaware of just how powerful the top warriors of this ship were and how one of them was actually watching over them. The right hand of the leader, Geryuganshoop, was watching all the destruction and could not believe that 15% of the crew had already been eliminated within two minutes of these intruders entering the ship. This monster was a blue octopus-like creature with multiple tentacles protruding from his body, and for a face, he only had three simplistic holes, two for his eyes and one for his mouth. Refusing to sit idly by and watch as the ship crashed down before him, Geryuganshoop went into action, which was why one of the top three fighters in the alien spaceship was on his way right now to deal with the intruders. This fighter's name was Groribas: towering at over 26 feet tall, this monster had mouths for hands with sharp teeth, and his face consisted of the same large mouth with jagged teeth.

Before Groribas left to fight the intruders, Geryuganshoop gave him some parting words of advice. "Now remember, Groribas, don't underestimate these opponents! The last thing Lord Boros wants is to hear that one of us got sloppy and let the intruders get the better of us! It would be a disgrace to the name of the Dark Matter Thieves."

Groribas was walking down one of the long halls of the Dark Matter Thieves ship, feeling a sense of excitement stirring within him. This would mark the first time in 20 years that he'd have an actual fight with an opponent. The only one he had to fight was Melzargard, but after fighting him for 20 years, it just wasn't fun anymore. But now, he had the chance to fight actual opponents.

"Hopefully I don't go overboard and kill the intruders like I usually do," said Groribas, "I wanna take my time finishing them off. That's what really gets me going. Ok now," Groribas tapped his claws to his chin while thinking of some of his fighting techniques. "What moves could I use? I've got my Double Bite, where I attack with both my arms at once. But I can also use Purgatory Thorn Grip. Or maybe I'll go with Sky Strangle Sunder, that or my Screw Tail Thrust. God, so many choices! I don't know which to choose!" The monster shrugged his shoulders, "Oh well. I'll just go with the flow and decide which moves to use when I run into the intruders."

* * *

Back in his throne room, the mighty Boros eventually decided that he'd done enough waiting around and stood up from his throne. With a calm, measured pace and an indifferent expression, Boros slowly made his way to the entrance of his throne room.

On the other side of the door and down a large hallway, Geryuganshoop continued to panic, amazed by how much progress these intruders had made inside the ship and unsure of what more to do against them. "What kind of organisms are they? Even with Groribas on his way to handle the intruders, that still leaves two of the other intruders wandering without difficulty throughout the ship. How the hell were they even able to get aboard the ship in the first place? Melzargard should've been surveying the ship to make sure no intruders boarded! With Groribas handling two of them, that leaves only Melzargard and I as the only two elite fighters remaining to deal with these unevolved bipeds!" Geryuganshoop grunted in exasperation at Melzargard's absence. "I bet that oaf is taking his sweet time toying with the inhabitants down there, the bastard! I need him now!" The tentacled alien was so focused on the matter at-hand, he was unaware of the door opening behind him and his master's suit stomping on the ground. "Geryuganshoop, you are unnerved. What has caused you such distress?"

"Lord Boros!" Geryuganshoop rotated his head to his master, and Boros could see the lines growing under his eyes as well as the seat beads forming on his face. "I deepest apologies, but I've made a drastic miscalculation: four Earthlings have entered the ship. In only three and a half minutes, 31% of the ship has been damaged, and more than three hundred of the crew members have been killed when sent to eliminate them. To make matters worse, they've split into two groups, and the rate of damage and death has increased by 73%. Groribas is already on his way to handle two of them, but the other two remain at large! And look!" Geryuganshoop pointed at one of the monitors, and it showed the blood of the dead crew members was levitating in thick lines, all encircling around the intruder with black hair, "One of the intruders appears to be absorbing the blood from the crew to make himself stronger! I've never seen any ability like that! I'm at a loss for how to handle them!"

In the face of this grave news, Boros remained composed and unconcerned with the devastation dealt to his ship. "Put your mind at ease. As long as the power sphere remains stable and functioning, it will give the necessary energy to keep the ship afloat. Additionally, the damage thus far is limited to the crew's living quarters. But it is obvious now that these intruders cannot be dealt by regular means: while Groribas handles the younger ones, you and Melzargard will dispose of the other two. Show them the might of the Dark Matter Thieves." Boros looked at the monitor with the bald man and the long-haired man, observing the first one's indifferent attitude and the second one's pleasured smile as he absorbed the essence of his crew. What kind of intruders were they?

* * *

Bang, Puri-Puri Prisoner and Hans jumped up to strike Melzargard, while Walter's wires fluttered around him. The alien slashed his hand at Hans, but the werewolf wrapped his hands around the monster's arms and twirled around his arm while simultaneously moving towards Melzargard's chest. He then rotated his body so that he was looking upside down and kicked Melzargard across the face with a spin kick with both feet while holding onto Melzargard's shoulder to keep him in place. Once he was finished, he performed a back flip and jumped onto one of the larger rocks.

While he was doing this, Puri-Puri Prisoner and Bang were assaulting Melzargard with a series of punches that were strong enough to blow apart the creature's body, and Walter used his wires to slice his arm off. Melzargard yelled and punched Bang and Puri-Puri Prisoner, who evaded the punch and jumped back. He then proceeded to summon all the matter he'd lost and regrow his arm and the damaged areas caused by the others.

"I must increase my defense and ensure I can divide my attention to each of these worms. In that case..." Melzargard grunted and began to form two extra pairs of arms. For two of these arms, instead of forming hands, the monster formed large shields to protect himself from their blows and try to make it more difficult for the wires to slice his limbs.

Melzargard's first target was Walter: rushing toward the vampire, he used two of his arms and punched Walter. The vampiric butler defended from these fists by creating mesh shields, but Melzargard didn't stop there: he then split his hands into multiple smaller appendages and attempted to sneak around the shield and strike Walter. Fortunately for Walter, he was able to use his wires to slice apart these stick appendages, but one could tell by his face that he was finding it difficult. It was because of this that he was barely able to react in time to Melzargard's foot kicking him and create a much weaker barrier that Melzargard was able to easily break through. The hero was sent flying a few meters in the air, although Walter was able to snap himself out of it and remained relatively uninjured.

At the same time, the other three heroes stormed Melzargard. He was quick enough to block Puri-Puri Prisoner and Bang with his shields, but Hans was swift enough to avoid the monster's arms and deliver a strong uppercut to Melzargard's chin. But Melzargard was quick and creative: on his chin, he formed a large block and swung his head down. Hans held his elbows up and was sent crashing down into the ground. Hans grimaced: this wasn't looking good. If his regenerative abilities were practically limitless, coupled with his morphing abilities and his divided attention, it wouldn't be long before Melzargard would take him by surprise and deal Hans or one of the others a fatal blow. Even though this wasn't a problem for Hans, he couldn't regenerate or unleash the fullest extent of his power through his werewolf form in front of the other heroes, but more than that, he couldn't let the other two heroes be critically injured or even killed. They had to find some sort of weakness and fast, or else this would all be going south in a matter or minutes.

"Don't forget about me!" Walter sprinted up to Melzargard and moved his hands in a frantic fashion. Melzargard gasped when he felt the wires encircling around his upper body, and could do nothing as they tore his head, chest and upper limbs into pieces. But as the pieces were falling and they were quickly levitating back up, Hans noticed a glimpse of some sort of tiny sphere. "A marble," the werewolf muttered, not understanding why he would have a marble inside of his body. Was it some sort of accessory? But if that were true, then why didn't the monster simply show the marble on the outside of his body? What purpose would he have to keep it hidden?

"Bang, Puri-Puri Prisoner, Walter, I have a new strategy!" The three heroes looked at Hans, all-ears to whatever recommendation he might've had. "Me, Bang, and Puri-Puri Prisoner will blitz Melzargard from multiple angles to keep him distracted! Make sure to give whatever kind of openings you can for Walter to slice Melzargard apart."

None of the heroes could see where he was going with this. "What on earth are you going on about?" said Walter.

"Just do it!" Bang and Puri-Puri Prisoner shrugged their shoulders, seeing no particular problem with this as long as they kept on beating Melzargard senseless. Walter extended his hands out, wires attached to each opposing finger, while many more wires were floating around Walter like tentacles on an octopus.

Melzargard proceeded to march towards the Class S heroes, being sure to keep track of the humans and keeping his defenses up. Whatever sort of plan that man with silver hair had concocted, Melzargard didn't want to give him the chance to enact it.

"MELZARGARD!" Inside the monster's mind, he heard the voice of a fellow comrade reaching out to him. It was Geryuganshoop using his telepathic abilities to communicate with him for some purpose. "What are you doing down there?"

"I'm fighting four Earthlings!" While Melzargard was communicating with his comrade, he was doing his best to keep track of the three heroes, and blocked the punch of Puri-Puri Prisoner.

"Get back up here! Four intruders have entered the ship!" The shapeshifting monster gasped. "Impossible! Either way, I have my hands full down here! Send Groribas to deal with them!"

"I already did, but the intruders split into two groups of two! Not only that, but all four have proven capable enough to kill our soldiers sent to kill them! Within the four minutes they've come on-board, more than half the crew has been killed!"

"Are you serious?" Melzargard blocked a series of kicks from Bang with his arm, while he rotated his body to block Hans' punch with his hand.

"Yes! I need you up here to eliminate the other two!"

"I can't! These humans are persistent! I can't finish them quickly enough to re-enter the ship!"

Geryuganshoop reached his tentacles to lightly clasp his throat. "No way! The humans down there are proving tenacious as well? What kind of planet is this?"

"They aren't tenacious at all: they're just speedy and bothersome, like cockroaches. Nevertheless, I need to end this fast! Begin cleansing my location with a bombardment from the ship!" Walter unleashed his wires at Melzargard, but the monster raised his arm and blocked the wires before they could reach for the rest of his body. Simultaneously, the other three heroes struck the alien with lightning-fast attacks which Melzargard couldn't defend against.

Geryuganshoop grimaced at this suggestion. "I already told you, I've got my hands full right now. Besides, artillery bombardment is the job of the lower ranks!"

"Well unfortunately, that's the only option you have if you want me to return to the ship." The tentacled extraterrestrial sighed and conceded to Melzargard's suggestion. "Very well, I'll go to the artillery crew and inform them of your predicament and your location. But you better not get caught up in the explosion and die!"

But as Geryuganshoop began his way to the artillery crew, another, better idea suddenly came to Melzargard. "Wait, hold on a second!" Melzargard shifted his head to look up at the ship and yelled to Geryuganshoop. "You should come down here instead and help me! That would be a much more effective and quick solution!" But it was too late: the esper had already broken the telepathic link. This very short lapse in distraction allowed Walter to land a series of very sharp and very potent slices of his monofilament wires, and with several waving motions of his hands, split Melzargard once again into several dozen pieces. While this may have seemed relatively insignificant, what the heroes didn't realize was that Hans was intently looking at the pieces of Melzargard's body to see where that blue orb of his could be hidden, keeping his knees bent and his body leaned forward in preparation. At first, he couldn't see anything, but when Melzargard's body began to levitate upward and reform, he saw a glimpse of the blue orb. The werewolf leaped toward this area, and thanks to his amazing senses and supernatural accuracy, Hans reached his hand out and grabbed the marble before it could be hidden in an unknown place within his body.

The other heroes saw this, and were perplexed by what that blue marble was. But judging by the shocked and angered look on Melzargard's face once he reformed, they could tell that it was likely something vital. The monster gazed down at Hans, and his face venomously contorted. "Give that back to me!"

The werewolf gave a very rare smirk, and crushed the marble in his hands. In that instant, one of the five pairs of eyes on Melzargard's face darkened and fell off the monster's head, becoming black ooze on the ground. All four heroes felt their spirits lift.

"Ah, your weakness is exposed!" exclaimed Walter, "Within your body you have these orbs that serve as your consciousnesses and the source of your regenerative abilities." The vampire swung his hand through the air, extending more of his wires. "So all I need to do is slice you apart enough times until I find your precious marbles!" Walter jumped up to Melzargard's head and swung more of his wires all across the monster's chest. Melzargard was steaming with rage. "I spent a century creating that marble, and that silver-haired insect crushed it! But it won't make a difference: you're all going to be annihilated by the shells! They'll be coming very soon, and I'll watch with all four pairs of eyes."

* * *

For the two teenage disciples, resistance had been rather minimal, as Seras and Saitama had insisted. Only two minutes into venturing alone, and they had already eliminated more than fifty aliens who had come to attack them. At the moment, both warriors were sprinting through the hallway, neither of them sustaining a single injury.

"It looks like Saitama and Alucard are going to handle all of the dangerous monsters," commented Seras.

Out of nowhere, Genos came to a screeching halt in the middle of the hallway. Seras put her foot down and looked back to the cyborg with a look of confusion and alertness. "Genos? What is it?"

"I am sensing a very high energy level approaching." This immediately put Seras' survival instincts into action, and she rushed next to Genos with a defensive stance. "Where is it? How high is the energy level?"

The cyborg's voice was uneasy. "Extremely high. Even higher than the Deep Sea King." Seras felt an alarm ring in her mind, and her heart began to drum. A monster more powerful than the Deep Sea King? Could both of them even handle such a foe? Genos pointed up to an entrance several feet above them. "And it's approaching from there." Genos took a defensive stance prepared his incineration cannons. Both teenagers could now hear large footsteps nearing the door, and they tensed their bodies. But who was this unknown fighter who'd decided to greet them? Who else could it be but Groribas.

The mighty warrior looked down at the two intruders and noticed they'd already taken fighting positions. "I see you were expecting my arrival! I commend you for making it this far, but your intrusion ends here!"

"Just who in the hell are you, and what do you want with this planet?" shouted Seras.

"I am Groribas, and I am one of the top three fighters of the Dark Matter Thieves! Our leader, Lord Boros, has come to this planet to fulfill a prophecy!"

Seras and Genos widened their eyes. "A prophecy?"

"Yes, it is foretold that he will find a warrior who can match his strength and rekindle his passion for battle," Groribas pointed one of his claw hands at the two heroes, "But it doesn't matter, for you both will die before reaching him! My acid breath will melt both of you into a pile of fleshy pulp!"

"Acid?!" Unpleasant and recent memories surfaced at the mention of more acid, and Seras snarled at the monster. Genos, however, maintained his composure and lifted his hand up at Groribas while throwing his suitcase to the side. "We will eliminate you, and your master will soon be next."

"Your arrogance is misplaced!" Groribas leaped off of the balcony with his claws stretched out and his mouth streaming with steam from the acid building in his mouth. "Now prepare to FIGHT!"

* * *

As Alucard and Saitama ventured through the ship, both heroes continued to make quick work of the aliens, occasionally busting through doors to find any hiding crew members. So far, they'd come across a few isolated attackers and killed about 30 aliens overall. After drinking their blood, Alucard managed to gain access to their memories, trying to make sense of those memories and find a way to navigate through the ship. Unfortunately, it appeared that the ship was so large, so complex and had so many different pathways, not even the crew members knew how to navigate it very well. While he hadn't been able to piece together the map of the ship, he got a general understanding of where they were at the moment, and understood Saitama and Alucard had been mostly in the living quarters. Not only that, but he also learned quite a bit about the leader and the purpose for their arrival.

"So his name is Boros?" Alucard was explaining everything he'd managed to piece together from the memories of the fallen aliens to Saitama. "And he came here based on a prophecy that said he'd find a worthy opponent?"

"Yes. His only interest is to fight someone who can match his power. Many of these soldiers believe the prophecy to be a false fate meant to distract him and lure him away from his vast empire. But he will soon come to see how powerful the warriors of this Earth truly are."

As they discussed these details while running through the hallway, they were met with a dozen aliens banded together at the end of this hallway, their guns all targeted at Alucard and Saitama.

"Don't take another step," said one of the aliens, "Or we'll blow you to bits!"

"You won't make it past us!"

"Oh?" Alucard flexed his fingers, and took out the two pistols he had in his coat pockets and fired. Thanks to the vampire's superior speed and his superhuman accuracy, Alucard was able to rip the aliens apart in mere seconds, while the aliens recklessly and rushingly firing their guns that only actually hit Saitama and Alucard about two or three times. Saitama was unfazed, while Alucard's body quickly regenerated. "Nice shooting there," said Saitama.

Alucard and Saitama advanced towards the aliens, and while they were doing this, many more aliens came pouring out of the nearby corridors. They were quickly taken care of by Saitama's punches and Alucard's bullets, and now, about fifty alien bodies were now in the hallway. Alucard lifted his hand, and all of the oozing blood from the bodies of the corpses levitated into the air, swirling around Alucard and entering his body in a few seconds. Saitama couldn't help but feel a sense of bitterness rise in his mouth. He knew Alucard needed blood to increase his power and even stay alive, but after seeing the army of zombies and the blood in their eyes, it made him rather queasy. "Come on, Alucard, let's keep going."

"Intruders!" Alucard and Saitama heard a voice booming in their heads. "I demand you both cease your destruction of our ship and depart immediately! If you do not agree, one of our top warriors will come to execute both of you after he's dealing with your two associates."

The bald hero scratched his head, unaware of what was going on. "What the heck? Alucard, are you hearing a voice in your head?"

"Yes," replied Alucard, "An esper is contacting us and is speaking to us via telepathy. However-" Alucard closed his eye for a second, and Saitama softly yelped when he heard in his brain, "He is not the only one with telepathic abilities."

"What?!" Geryuganshoop yelled, "You are a telepath?"

Alucard grinned widely, the fear in this creature's voice giving him pleasure and confidence, "That's correct, and I can also sense your telepathic connection." Alucard looked back at Saitama and pointed at a hallway to the right. "We go down that hallway, and on the second right entrance, that's where he'll be." Saitama giddily snickered and patted Alucard on the back, catching Alucard off guard and causing him to give a small, genuine smile. The two heroes then began to run through the hallway and meet their foe, who was freaking out at the moment in the control room. "God, what do I do?! They already know where I am! How was I supposed to know that one of them was a telepath? No! NOOOO!"

Saitama and Alucard jumped together and punched the large door down simultaneously. When the dust cleared, Saitama and Alucard saw this was a large room with several monitors showing the condition of the ships and performing several calculations, including energy output, locations of damage on the ship, the the number of crew members that were killed. "It appears we've arrived in the control center of the ship," said Alucard.

"WORMS!" The two heroes heard this infuriated voice coming from underneath the rubble of the busted door. Then, several blue tentacles began to creep up the rock, perplexing Saitama and Alucard. "What the hell?" said Saitama, "Is that an octopus?"

"Something along those lines, I think," replied Alucard. The tentacled extraterrestrial pushed himself up and stared down at the two heroes, his body shimming with rainbow colors and a few pebbles were floating around him. "You have the arrogance to enter our ship, eradicate our men, and barge in here unannounced?!" The blue alien's eyes and mouth glowed bright white, and the pebbles around Geryuganshoop began to fly towards the two heroes. Alucard widened his eyes, and lifted his hand up. The pebbles in the air suddenly stopped midair, and were now hovering a few feet above the heroes.

The alien derisively cackled. "Please! You may have some psychic abilities, but you are a mere ant in front of a dinosaur!" Geryuganshoop's eyes began to glow slightly brighter, and Alucard felt the alien's psychic pressure quickly overwhelm him. He let out a loud shout and increased his psychic output, but the Dragon-level monster smiled and lightly pushed his tentacle forward. In an instant, Alucard was overwhelmed, and the rocks resumed their descent towards Alucard and Saitama.

"Now, bear witness to the unbelievable power that I, Geryuganshoop, the ultimate telekinetic power in the universe, will use to blend you into a bloody paste!"

* * *

 _The suspense is building! What's gonna happen with Genos and Seras fighting Groribas? How bad is it going to turn out? What about Boros? Who will fight him? So many questions, and so much intensity bubbling! You'll just have to wait for the next chapter of Monstrum Hominis!_


	22. Together

_Lo and behold! Chapter 22 of Monstrum Hominis has finally arrived! Come and see what exactly happens to Genos and Seras as they try and fight against one of the top lieutenants of the Dark Matter Thieves!_

* * *

"Now, bear witness to the unbelievable power that I, Geryuganshoop, the ultimate telekinetic power in the universe, will use to blend you into a bloody paste!"

The rocks and debris thrown at Saitama and Alucard were thrown at such high speeds, even such tiny pebbles were able to kick up large amounts of dust and create dents in the floor. The extraterrestrial esper sneered at the intruder's pathetic attempt to outmatch him in a battle of telekinesis. "Look where your arrogant boasting got you."

"I'd say it's gotten me pretty far." Geryuganshoop felt a heavy feeling in his stomach when the dust cleared, a sweat drop falling down his face as well. While the other psychic had holes in his body, those holes were somehow filling up by a black and red matter, and his friend didn't even look fazed. "Perhaps now you are beginning to understand that neither I or my friend are opponents to be trifled with."

"Silence! What you just experienced was but a fraction of my full potential! However, it appears your statement is partly true as well. That leaves me no choice." Geryuganshoop lifted his tentacle at the two intruders and yelled, "TELEKINETIC GRAVITATIONAL WAVE!"

When the other aliens in the control heard this, all of screamed out in terror, knowing what was about to come. They sprinted out of the room, attempting to escape the special technique the right hand man of Boros was about to unleash, but it was too late. Geryuganshoop's eyes glowed a very bright yellow, and the very light around the room began to distort. Although Saitama didn't even blink, Alucard felt a great pressure on his shoulders, and the force was strong enough to bring him down to one knee. The other aliens that were attempting to escape this telekinetic attack didn't stand a chance, and their entire bodies were crushed, their vitals being turned into flat jelly. The ground around the two heroes began to sink, and Alucard moaned in pain.

Geryuganshoop pridefully boasted his power. "This is the end of the line for you! What you are feeling now is only possible with my unparalleled telekinetic abilities granting me the ability to manipulate the forces of gravity! A reject telekinetic like you could never hope to achieve this level of power! Now sink!"

Saitama looked down at Alucard. "You alright there?"

Alucard had to focus all his strength to simply lift his eyes to meet Saitama's gaze. "This monster's telekinesis is unlike anything I've ever encountered before," muttered Alucard, "And yet, this doesn't even tickle for you." The monster slyly smiled and shook his head. "Of course it doesn't."

Upon seeing how Alucard was able to resist such a powerful telekinetic ability and how Saitama was seemingly immune to his gravitational waves, Geryuganshoop shuddered while several more sweat beads trickled down. "Damn it!" Alucard felt that heaviness instantly lifted off his shoulders, and he regained his footing, but he was feeling uneasy when he saw Geryuganshoop lifting several more pebbles. "What is he doing now?"

The alien began to spin the pebbles around him at amazingly high speeds, making it appear as though he was being surrounded by yellow rays of light. Some mild electric shocks formed around Geryuganshoop, and soon his entire body was now covered by thick gusts of wind, like an upside down tornado shooting lightning. These high wind speeds caused Saitama and Alucard to be gradually pushed back, also forcing the two heroes to try and cover their eyes.

"What the hell is that?" said Saitama.

"I'm not sure," replied Alucard, beginning to take out one of his pistols, "But I'm not waiting to find out." Unfortunately for Alucard, the speed of these winds made it difficult to accurately point his pistol as the foe, and as he was preparing to aim it at Geryuganshoop, the alien had already prepared his ultimate move.

"Try and withstand this! Telekinetic Shower of Rubble!" Geryuganshoop sent his rocks flying once again at Saitama and Alucard, except this time, they were hundreds, even thousands of times faster than they were before. At the speed these rocks were going, any person would be obliterated, turned into nothing but superheated chunks of flesh and evaporated blood over the floor. That is what Geryuganshoop thought the end result would be, and hopefully, the damage would be devastating enough that the regenerator couldn't heal from it.

"Now then!" proclaimed Geryuganshoop, "The battle is over," The statement he fiercely wanted to be true was sorely mistaken: not only was Saitama left undaunted and holding a rock in his hand, but the damage dealt to Alucard, which was extremely horrible and leaving nearly all of his chest, head, and arms torn to pieces, was being healed once again. Unfortunately for Geryuganshoop, his abilities weren't potent enough to deal with either hero. "To think that all that build-up and the upside-down tornado, all you did was throw pebbles around. Anybody can do that. Watch." Saitama looked at Geryuganshoop, and with uncanny, perfect accuracy, the bald hero threw the rock in his hand at the alien's head, splitting it in two. With his life fading away and his conscious slipping, Geryuganshoop's last thoughts were of how impossible his defeat was. "How could I, Geryuganshoop, fall... like this..." Having entered death's doors, Geryuganshoop fell to the ground.

Simultaneously, Alucard's body fully regenerated and he was walking towards the defeated esper. "The soldiers butchered like dogs, the citizens ravaged by firepower, and now, the enemy's top lieutenant who orchestrated the slaughtering of the innocent and crushed his own men, will not be rewarded with the sweet embrace of death." Alucard looked back at Saitama and reminded him, "There are no remaining soldiers: by drinking his blood, we will know where Boros is located. It is a necessary punishment for a warmonger." He grabbed Geryuganshoop by the head, leaving his neck exposed. The vampire opened his teeth, prepared to manually take the life essence of the fallen psychic. It appeared Alucard would kick Geryuganshoop out of death's doors and imprison him into a fate that was even worse. The vampire sunk his teeth into the alien's neck, and blood began to spew around Geryuganshoop's corpse. The blood concentrated around Alucard's mouth began to glow brightly as Geryuganshoop's memories, powers, and soul were being transferred into Alucard's body.

After a few seconds, Alucard pushed himself off of Geryuganshoop's body and jumped back up to Saitama, whom Alucard could tell was visibly nauseated and even slightly repulsed by Alucard's monstrous act of consuming Geryuganshoop's blood. The vampire pointed at the door to the far back of the room. "Boros' throne room is through that door and down a long hallway. That is where he will be."

* * *

"NOW PREPARE TO DIE!" On the other side of the ship, Groribas leapt down to Genos and Seras and fired a large stream of green acid at the intruders. The two heroes saw this coming and jumped to the sides, but were amazed by how this acid was able to break down the floor of the ship until there was a hole five meters deep. Genos opened his palm up and fired an incineration blast at Groribas when he was wide open. The fiery blast hit the monster, creating a large cloud of dust. In less than a second, Groribas fanned the clouds away and showed himself completely uninjured, eliciting shocked gasps from Genos and Seras.

"Hah! Such basic and weak attacks will do nothing against me!" said Groribas, "If you really want to eliminate me like you said, you'll have to do a lot better than that!"

Seras pushed against the wall, and propelled herself toward Groribas with her left foot extended. Seras struck Groribas across the face, doing relatively little damage, and once she landed on the ground, she lifted up her demonic arm and extended multiple thick tendrils at the monster, similar to large spears. The alien lifted his claw-hands, opened the mouths, and unleashed two blasts of acid at the dark tendrils. Seras shouted in agony when she felt the acid melting down her tendrils into goo. She retracted her tendrils, shaking off the acid to relieve the pain and properly regenerate her vampiric arm. Groribas softly cackled when he saw her arm regenerate. ""Hah! Your shapeshifting arm won't work on me! I've fought a shapeshifter for twenty years! I know how they think!" Seras could feel a chill run down her spine with the growing murderous aura from Groribas. "But now that I see you can regenerate, It means I can take my sweet time. If I'm lucky, I'll even get to use all my special moves!"

Genos leaped up at Groribas' head while Seras targeted the chest. Groribas moved his head to avoid Genos' attack, while intercepted the vampire with one of his claw hands and clamped down violently, causing Seras to yelp out in pain. Groribas next slammed her down head-first into the ground, then threw her into the wall, where Seras coughed up blood. Landing on the top entrance of the hallway where Groribas had entered from, Genos performed a back flip and propelled himself up with his back boosters. He then used his boosters to propel himself downward and stomped Groribas on his head. The monster was sunk down a few feet by the force of this kick. "Hey, looks like you're slightly following my advice! That kinda stings!" Groribas pushed Genos up a feet feet with his head, then craned his head up, where he then grabbed Genos' shins with his jaws. Instead of eating him or ripping off his feet, Groribas decided not to do this to extend the battle, and instead threw him next to Seras, who was still healing from the damage taken just seconds before.

"Double Bite!" Groribas rushed towards the two heroes and grabbed both of them in his jaw hands. The monster sadistically cackled when he saw Genos and Seras squirming in his hands and trying to break free. "It's useless! Even when I'm only applying moderate pressure, that's more than enough to keep you two writhing in pain!" Both heroes shouted in pain and anger as these sharp teeth pierced their skin and broke their arms. Groribas went on by jumping up several meters, shifting his body to face downward, and swung his hands down to the ground. The floor broke beneath them, and all three warriors fell down into a larger room with several small balconies. There were several guns laying around, as well as many targets, test dummies, and other weapons. It appeared as though this as some sort of training area for the crew members to not only hone their skills, but to also conduct some practice battles and simulations.

The monster let go of the two heroes from his pincers, and out of nowhere, several thorns popped up on his shoulders and upper chest. "Purgatory Thorn Grip!" He then tightly hugged the heroes, who yelled out when they felt these thorns pierce through their skins. "Hahaha! Look how pathetic you two are!" Groribas released the two from his grip, and punched them against the wall, where they fell with practically no resistance. No more than a minute or two into battle, and already, both Seras and Genos felt they were already wiped out. Genos was able to get back up to his feet quicker than Seras thanks to his lack of pain sensations, but he still could see the many holes and crushed parts of his limbs. Additionally, small trails of oil were oozing out his holes, and the bottom part of his shirt was torn off. Seras wasn't doing better: she has blood running down her head, the holes from Groribas' jaw-hands and his thorns still regenerating, but worst of all, her eyes were damp with hopelessness. Genos grunted, the rage and frustration building inside his heart, to know that once again, he was against an opponent where he was practically useless.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Groribas slowly walked toward the two foes, basking in their fear like a person on the beach absorbing the sun's rays. "You don't know how long I've waited for this feeling! The trembling of your bodies, the fists clenched in frustration, the scent of fear entering my nostrils, and most of all, the look of hopelessness in your eyes. In 20 years, I've never had the chance to experience this, but now, I finally feel like myself again!"

"Damn it!" said Genos.

"He's too powerful," muttered Seras, "We can't... we can't win. I'm sorry, Genos." The vampire lowered her head and lifted her hand to her forehead. "We should've gone into the other pairs like you said. Now we're finished."

"My my, Seras, how far you've fallen." The young vampire felt a shudder go through her spine when she heard that voice within her body. Unlike Alucard, there was only one voice inside of Seras, but until now, she never heard it. It was Pip Bernadotte, her familiar and her comrade for eternity, here to give his support against this threat. "Now pull yourself together. If you don't, I'll have to call you "ma chère", and I know how that irritates you." The young vampire smiled and got back on her feet. Genos looked at this sudden change of attitude with confusion, and his confusion was only heightened when he saw Seras' dark tendril morphing, taking on the shape of a person. Once this figure fully formed, it was a man of slightly above average height with reddish-brown hair and green eyes. He wore a green coat with a red scarf, and his most notable features are his eye patch and long braid. "So you're the "Genos" I've heard so much about." This man spoke with a heavy accent.

"Seras, what is this?"

"Genos, meet Pip Bernadotte." The familiar tipped his hat off in respect. "He's a mercenary hired by Hellsing, and the one whose blood I drank in order to become a true vampire."

"I decided to come out after seeing how bad this monster was dominating you, garçon. And you know what they say: a stitch in time saves nine."

Groribas paid attention to this unknown figure coming out of this girl's arm, and was quite surprised. "Who have we got here?" boomed Groribas, "It looks like I've got a third plate for my lunch!"

Pip turned to the monstrously-sized alien and took in everything he could see about him. He was an experienced combatant and mercenary, after all. He could look at the weaknesses of his opponents. For one, he didn't have any visible eyes, so how he even saw in the first place was a very question. That could also imply that he didn't have very good vision in the first place. Another thing was his very bulky frame: although he had his very bulky chest and stocky shoulders, he didn't appear very nimble. Perhaps that was something they could use to their advantage. "Qui suis je? A partner to this fierce flower here, and speaking of flowers, you look like three venus flytraps who merged together and came to life."

Groribas didn't understand what he was referring to, but it was safe to assume it was some sort of insult. "Cute! But luckily for me, I've got three mouthes to bite with, so I'll make sure I won't leave you out!"

"Garçon." Pip looked at the young cyborg, and his smile disappeared. "If we're going to kick this venus flytrap back into the darkness of space, you can't give Seras the cold shoulder." Pip had seen the way Genos and Seras had fought together against the Deep Sea King: the two of them together were able to put that fish on the ropes. With his help here, he didn't seem any reason why this alien freak would get the better of them.

"Now come on, Genos!" shouted Seras, the young vampire reinvigorated and passionately clenching her other fist at him. "Let's give him the what-for!" Groribas rushed the two heroes and punched the ground, creating a large hole in the floor and the wall. Seras and Genos dodged the blow, and Pip morphed back into Seras' body except for his head so he could shout out to Genos. "Keep your attacks low, and go from all directions!"

Genos took this advice Pip gave, seeing it as very crucial in finding openings to attack. The young cyborg performed many swift movements, so fast, in fact, that it looked as through he was teleporting. Genos then leapt behind Groribas and kicked Groribas in the back of his knee to force him to lose balance. However, he immediately took note of the tail he had, specifically how its end was an extra mouth, and assumed the worse of what it could do and how capable Groribas could use it.

"Screw Tail Thrust!" The dragon-level monster began to spin his tail rapidly like an electric drill, and the tail lashed out at Genos, the mouth at the end opening its jaws to bite down on metal. The cyborg, having anticipated some move like this beforehand, was able to dodge the attack in time. Surprises kept coming up, though, and the tail immediately changed course to target the cyborg's new location. Genos expected the tail to stab him through the chest, but before it could, Seras came in from the side and kicked Groribas in his lower right hip. This threw Groribas off-balance, and the tail changed course by a few inches, so the head bit only air. "I need to remove that tail!" Genos knew that with his tail, any attempts at surprise attacks and multiple strikes from Seras and Genos simultaneously would be hindered. To make sure he properly removed the tail, he heated up his hand to several hundred degrees so that his entire hand was now glowing bright orange. For extra measures, he activated boosters on his elbows to increase the speed of his thrust, and also activated the boosters on his feet to increase his speed in general. He then rushed down to the base of the monster's tail, craned his arm back, and sliced down. With heat searing through flesh, the monster yelped in pain when he lost sensations in his tail. When he turned around, he saw his tail writhing on the ground, the head frantically opening and closing its head while it spewed small bursts of acid, until its movements soon ceased. "You bastard, you have the gall to cut my tail..." The two heroes began to feel uneasy when they saw Groribas shaking with anger, and actually shuddered when they saw this monster yell out in fury. "YOU LITTLE PRICKS JUST EARNED YOURSELVES THE WORST DEATHS I CAN DISH OUT AT YOU!"

Pip Bernadotte, however, wasn't impressed or intimidated whatsoever. "Calmez-vous! Don't let a little temper tantrum unnerve you! Just keep up your attacks!"

"I will have to upgrade my firepower!" Genos jumped several meters into the air, raised his hand, and his suitcase came to him via the cyborg's command signals. This was a newly upgraded arms mode that Dr. Kuseno had been working on: Genos brought it along in case he wanted to test it out in Bang's dojo, and later during the Class S meeting as a safety precaution. With this new arms upgrade, the potency of his incineration blasts, his physical strength, and speed were increased by 15% percent. Once the suitcase reached the room, the arms inside them burst out of the suitcase, and Genos raised his arms up to allow this new-and-improved arms mode to replace his broken and hole-filled arms.

"Oh no, you don't!" Groribas prepared his acid breath and fired a stream of acid from his head at the cyborg, but it was too late: in the air, the cyborg's body created large electrical discharges as these arms fused with his body, and within a fraction of a second, his new arms mode was already synched with the rest of his body. As the acid was only inches away from melting his body, Genos held his palms out, and fired a very large incineration blast brighter than before. As the acid and the heat blast collided, orange and green muddled together to make a bizarre brown color, but Genos' incineration blast managed to quickly overpower the acid stream, and Groribas was enveloped by the flames of the cyborg's blast.

"Hah!" The three-headed monster derisively laughed and swept away the dust clouds from the cyborg's blast, once again unharmed. "Try again!"

"Damn it!" yelled Seras, "We're still not doing any damage!"

"You're damn right you're not!" Groribas extended his arms towards Genos and widened his jaws, but as he was doing this, the cyborg noticed something... odd. At the back of the throats of these jaws, he could see a white substance with pupils. Could it be... eyes? That's it! His eyes were hidden within his jaw hands; he must've had some sort of mechanism to close or move his eyes to allow for acid to come out of the mouths.

Groribas fired a stream of acid from his right jaw, then his left jaw, changing which head he was firing from by every half-a-second. Genos clasped his palms together, forming a larger cannon, and vaporized the streams of acid breath. Groribas let out an exasperated grunt, and once the incineration blast reached him, he used his right jaw-hand to hit it aside. "I'm getting really tired of your fancy fire blasts!" yelled Groribas.

"I have an idea! Seras, distract him! Force him to use his acid breath!"

"Yes, Genos!" Seras flexed her demonic hand and stabbed it into the ground. Groribas was confused at what this was, and saw that several dark tendrils travelled across the floor and surrounded him. He tried to follow the dark tendrils, and realized they were all rising up from behind him, about a dozen very thick black and red tendrils ready to pierce him. The dragon-level monster sprayed acid with his head and both his jaw-hands to maximize the total area of acid spray all across the dark tendrils, and Seras yelled out in pain once again. But this opening allowed Genos to leap above the wall of tendrils, rush in front of Groribas until he was only a few feet away from his jaw-hands, and unleashed one of his special moves.

"Lightning Eye!" Genos unleashed a blinding flash of light from his eyes, using more energy than before to increase the brightness, and thanks to the close proximity he was able to get through Seras' distraction, the lethality of this technique only increased. Seras heard Genos shout, and knowing this technique all-too-well, shielded her eyes in the nick of time. Groribas let out an ear-piercing scream, staggering back while his hands flailing about and his jaw-hands were foaming at the mouth. "There it is!" yelled Pip, "Blow him away! Make it hurt!"

The vampire and the cyborg knew this was indeed the perfect opportunity, and both rushed the monster while he had his defenses down, Seras from behind, and Genos from in front, and unleashed some extremely powerful strikes.

"Machine Gun Blows!" Genos held nothing back and threw his chain of fast punches with everything he had, bashing the monster's stomach area.

"Demon Pummeling!" After hearing the way Genos named his attacks and how his master named his attack before, Seras decided to follow in their footsteps and named an attack of her own. Although it was quite simplistic, Seras fueled these punches with her rage and killing intent, attacking Groribas in the lower back area. "GGGGRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!" Both heroes yelled out while they simultaneously blew Groribas away, and this damage was only made worse by the fact that Genos and Seras were attacking Groribas in the same area from the front and behind. The green alien was actually starting to feel pain, and if this kept going on, he might have some serious bruises. So he went into action. "Explosive Thorn Wave!"

Groribas focused, and from his body, several thorns started to grow and shot out in all directions. The two heroes were forced back, both of them having about a dozen thorns lodged in their bodies. Seras rushed around Groribas and stood beside Genos, who was picking the thorns out of his body. "Well done, garçon!" Pip formed from the vampire's demon arm and looked at Genos with a smile. "Looks like you managed to put him out of it."

"I saw that he has two eyes hidden inside his jaws," explained Genos, "That's how he's able to see."

"Interesting..." Pip put his fingers to his chin while Groribas was still recovering his eyesight. "If that's true, then he has to constantly keep his jaws open and moving. Maybe..." Pip snapped his fingers and beamed: an idea came to him! "I've got it: Genos, fire your flame blasts all around that mutant plant! Kick up dust and ash! Make sure he's entirely covered by dust clouds! Seras!" Pip expanded his body to turn around and look Seras in the eye, "Stay above and hidden! Wait until Genos has finished to attack him!" Pip's attention went to Groribas, and he noticed that the monster had some scratches and a few drops of blood coming from his stomach. "Keep up the attacks on his stomach and lower back area! If you do, that area will eventually weaken enough for you to land a finishing blow."

After seeing the tides turning in their favor, these weaknesses being exposed and the slight damage they'd been able to deal, even if it was for a moment, Seras felt a ray of hope. With the three of them working together, using strategy and teamwork, they could defeat this monster. "Yes! Genos, you heard Mr. Bernadotte!" The cyborg was likewise feeling a sense of hope rising inside him, and prepared the incineration blasts at his palms. "Very well."

Groribas, his eyes having recovered from this blinding light, stared at the three opponents with more murderous intent. "This isn't over! Not by a long-shot!"

"Garçon, ma cher, go now!" The two S-class heroes did as Pip said: Genos jumped up and craned his arms back. Groribas expected some more barrages of incineration blasts at his middle torso and raised his arms and elbows up in defense. Genos pushed his hands forward, and the incineration blasts came flying at amazing speeds. But to the monster's shock, all these incineration blasts weren't aimed at him, but the area around him. Dozens upon dozens of incineration blasts were being fired from the cyborg, and within seconds, the collective dust and clouds of ash being formed from these blasts rose up, expanding enough to cover Genos and everything around Groribas, in fact.

"Oh, I see where you're going with this!" yelled Groribas, "You're acting like cowards and fighting in the shadows! I thought the scum on this planet would have the barest of standards, but I guess scum will be scum!" The monster immediately went on the defensive and held his jaw-hands up, surveying everything around him as best as he could. "Well then come at me! Do your worst! I'll prove to you that my might will overcome your cheap tactics!" For a moment, there was nothing. The dust was unstirred, and Groribas was on-alert. "Where are you..."

Out of nowhere, Groribas felt a hard kick at his back. The monster turned around and fired multiple thorns to try and get them, but he didn't see any bodies. For another few seconds, there was no action from Genos or Seras. His eyes were focused on the upper area of the dust clouds, and because of this, he wasn't able to react in-time to Seras performing multiple front flips and kicking him in the stomach. The monster let out a groan, bending his back slightly down and attempted to grab the vampire, but Genos came from above and kicked him hard in the head. The momentum caused Groribas to fall over while Seras escaped through his legs, and the two joined together and kicked him as hard as they could in his lower back, and thanks to his tail being severed, Groribas couldn't defend himself like he usually could. The monster yelled and began to form more spikes on his back which shot out at the two heroes, but the heroes saw him forming these spikes and receded back in the clouds of dust.

"Damn it!" The monster got himself back up and tried to remain as alert as he could, watching out for any rifts or swirling in the dust, listening in to any noises he heard from behind him, and keeping his eyes focused to reduce any chances of missing spots. Groribas thought about using his Explosive Thorn Wave again, but that technique was really energy-consuming, and if he used it twice in a row, it would leave him too vulnerable. So all he could do for now was remain alert.

Wait! The monster began to see a humanoid form in the dust crouching and seemingly alert. "GOTCHA!" Groribas rushed toward the figure and gripped him as hard as he could. He grinned in delight, but that grin turned into a frown when he realized that it wasn't either of the intruders: it was one of the crew members with a gun in his hand. "Wait a minute, what?"

"Lord Groribas... why?" The alien spoke his last words before his body was split in half and he died from shock. Groribas looked around, and saw that many more figures were starting to show in the dust clouds. "Lord Groribas? We heard the commotion and thought we should help!"

The dragon-level monster threw his hands down, groaning angrily. "No, no, I don't need any help! In fact, you're doing the opposite of help right now!" screamed Groribas, "So unless you wanna be a giant puddle of goo, I suggest you all leave right now before I spray you all with my acid!" Out of the dozen figures that were in the dust, one of those figures came out of the dust and kicked the monster across the face with her right heel. Groribas attempted to react and grab her midair, but he missed her by a few inches. While Groribas was attempting to grab Seras, Genos came in and kicked the monster in his upper back, causing him to lose balance and falter his footsteps. Genos then activated his boosters and soared up back into the dust.

The alien soldiers got a move on and tried to come back the way they came. While most of them were able escape, a few of them were having trouble navigating through the thick dust. Because of this, a few more of the soldiers were killed by Groribas, whether it be through his acid breath, being ripped in half, or being blown away by one of his punches and spilling their guts. While all of this happened, Genos and Seras continued to blitz Groribas with joint assaults, with one attacking the monster while the other had just finished striking him, when Groribas was most vulnerable to attack. Now, the two heroes were able to land several solid blows on the dragon-level monster's weak spots while also keeping up their attacks on Groribas' more bruised stomach areas. Despite their best efforts and teamwork, none of these attacks seemed to be slowing down Groribas. To make matters worse, with every attack, Groribas was beginning to adapt, learning where the two heroes would come from, and every time, the monster was closer and closer to clutching them with his jaw-hands. Genos and Seras were running out of time.

The advantage of the dust clouds was finally nullified: Seras ran up right below Groribas where she was out of his vision, and uppercutted him in the chin. She then followed up with a spinning right kick across his left cheek. But this time, Groribas had been able to predict where she'd come from and was able to react quickly enough. He kicked her in the air, jumping up to stop her and then grabbed her by the legs and by her neck.

"Sky Strangle Sunder!" The Dragon-level monster began to tear her body apart while simultaneously applying pressure on her throat to cut off her breathing. The monster felt his spirits lifting up, his bloodlust taking over. "I'm gonna rip you in half now!"

"No you will not!" Genos' body began to glow bright orange, and from the ground, the cyborg jumped up and punched Groribas in his back, causing Groribas to loosen his grip enough for Seras to escape. He then activated rotation mechanisms, like he had done with the Deep Sea King, and a great explosion of fire and black ash filled the room. Groribas crashed into the wall head-first, while Seras and Genos fell back on the ground. Seras was focusing on regenerating her severed areas, for she didn't even have a voice, while Genos was stopping the spinning mechanisms of his arm.

"Seras, Groribas is beginning to predict our movements," said Genos, "We have to end this now before we're dealt fatal blows. I will use my maximum power incineration cannons the same way I did against the meteor."

"Bonne idée, garçon," replied Pip, "Seras and I will try to distract him while you prepare your fire blast. Let's go, ma cher!"

Seras sprinted toward the Dragon-level monster, who was coming back to his senses and recovering from the blast. While this was happening, Genos took his core out of his chest, where he then put it on his arm and several cackles of electricity shot out, burning the ground around the cyborg.

"Hey no-eyes!" yelled Seras, "Don't think that I'm done with you!" The female vampire used her vampiric arm and created many more thick tendrils that were aimed for the monster's eyes. This time, Groribas caught all the tendrils with his jaw-hands and his mouth and severed them from her control.

"God, you never learn!" yelled Groribas, "Those tendrils won't ever pierce my body! And now that I'm beginning to learn your fighting style, I'll get both of you in my claws in no time! Nothing you do can damage me!"

The hero and the alien suddenly heard the loud sparks of electricity from the edge of the dust cloud, and Seras smirked. "I wouldn't be so sure about that!"

"NOW!" With his power core lifting his incineration cannons to their maximum power, Genos shot his hand out and unleashed an amazingly large blast of flames. Groribas was taken aback by the increased size of this blast, noting its diameter to be about his size. This must've been the boy's fiery blasts at their peak strength. Despite this, the monster was not afraid: all this cyborg's attacks had managed to do thus far is ruffle him up at-best. If Groribas was serious in defending from this blast, then he could handle it no problem. "You think this scares me?!" yelled Groribas, "This is just a joke!"

As the incineration blast made its way toward Groribas, Seras quickly jumped out of the way and narrowly escaped the gruesome burns that would follow. Upon reaching Groribas, the monster raised his jaw-hands and held the intense blast back with great effort. The struggle was intense: Genos was yelling as he attempted to eliminate Groribas with the same technique he used to hold back the meteor, and Groribas was actually struggling to hold the blast back. He'd underestimated how much extra power Genos had put into this blast, and he could feel himself being pushed back.

Seras watched the way Groribas was struggling to hold this back, and felt the adrenaline rushing through her. He was actually struggling! This might be the trick! But she knew it would have to be now: Genos could only use this maximum-power incineration cannon for no more than 15 seconds before his energy core would be drained. They could only hope he could kill Groribas in-time.

In the mind of Genos, his insecurity and growing fear was all that was running his thoughts. If his maximum power couldn't eliminate Groribas, then he would be left in a crippled state, leaving only Seras to fend off against the monster, which would inevitably lead to both their deaths. "Please," muttered Genos, "Just let this work."

The seconds passed by, and the struggle continued to become more calamitous. Neither side could gain a clear advantage over the other. Genos only had 8 seconds left before his energy core would be depleted. Was this really it? Was the fight already over? No, it was not!

The cyborg's wishes were answered: Groribas could no longer hold back the surge of energy and the scalding heat growing on his hands. The incineration blast quickly enveloped Groribas, and the monster screamed in agony as he felt the flames surround him and burn him. The Maximum-power incineration cannon tore through many walls like paper. While watching this, Seras felt her heart do a flip: this was it! The final blow was dealt!

Once Genos heard the screams of Groribas echo through the room, he immediately shut down his energy core. With only 3 seconds left to spare, the energy core was left only with 15 percent functionality. "I must not be hasty." Genos wasn't ready to blindly claim his victory, and inserted his energy core back into his chest and used the minimal amount of energy required to run. "Genos!" Seras ran up to Genos, relieved to see that he was actually up. "You have the strength to stand?"

"Yes," replied Genos, "I still have enough power in my energy core to function. Come on: we must see if Groribas was actually defeated. We can't let the Deep Sea King incident repeat itself."

"Of course!" The two heroes ran side-by-side, following the trail of destruction caused by the heat and power of the cyborg's incineration cannon tearing through the ship. After running through three walls, Genos and Seras saw the holes in the walls finally stop and Groribas on the other end of the room, and to the shock of both heroes, the dragon-level monster was still standing. His green body was now hinted with dark gray; he was staggering and looked on the verge of falling again. "No..." muttered Genos, "It wasn't enough."

"Yes it was!" Pip formed his head and chest from the demonic arm and attempted to dissuade the hopelessness growing in Genos. "You are almost there! You just need one last attack to finish him off!"

"He's right, Genos! And-" Seras did an unexpected move and actually grasped Genos' hand, the heat in the cyborg's cheeks slightly rising. "We need to do it together."

"Correcte, ma cher. Target his stomach, and with all the damage you've dealt there, it will be the last bit you need." The heat in the cyborg's face quickly disappeared, and he furrowed his eyebrows while he nodded in agreement. If this is what it took, then so be it. Defeating Groribas was more important than his pride. "As you wish, Seras. Together."

The two heroes stared directly into the eyes (or where the eyes would usually be) of the monster. This was the end for Groribas. The two teenage heroes, brought together through the pain of their past and determinations to fight evil, started a walking pace that quickly progressed into a sprinting pace. As they were sprinting, they then jumped a few feet in the air and held both of their feet out. To increase the strength of their combined kicks, they also started to spin at amazing speeds. The red and gray merged together, forming a spinning drill that would pierce its way through whatever crossed its path. And by the time Groribas mustered the strength to look back up, he was helpless as the combined attack of Genos and Seras drilled through his stomach and twisted apart his insides.

"GGGGRRRAAAAHHHHH!" The dragon-level monster yelled in anguish. Once Genos and Seras ripped through the extraterrestrial's intestines, they stopped their spinning. The two heroes turned around and saw Groribas contorting and struggling to keep his body upright. More than that, he was completely traumatized, unsettled, almost in denial that this was happening. "This... this isn't possible," muttered Groribas, "I am the mighty Groribas, one of the three strongest members of the Dark Matter Thieves. How could I lose to such weak worms through trickery and cheap shots? This cannot... be my... end..." It could, and it was. With the blood loss, his missing organs, and physical shock taking their collective tolls, the Dragon-level lieutenant of the Dark Matter Thieves finally took his last breath and began his long, slow descent to the pits of hell.

Once Genos and Seras saw that they had finally defeated Groribas, both of them were silent. Neither could really process the emotions stirring through them, but the first one who managed to collect herself was Seras, and the first thing she did was softly laugh. She laughed in shock and amazement: Groribas was actually killed. The female vampire felt exciting energy bubble up inside her, and she pumped her fists in the air. "We did it, Genos!" With this excitement bursting from her, she made a drastic move and leaped into the cyborg's arms. Genos was completely dumbfounded, once again unfamiliar with this sudden display of affection, and was too amazed to push the comrade off of him. Fortunately for Genos, she quickly pushed herself off of him and beamed at her fellow Class S hero. The female vampire, more than happiness in their victory, she felt pride. She was proud that Genos managed to put his anger and ego aside and fight as a team, and together, against all odds, they were victorious. "Can you believe it, Genos? Despite the amazing power Groribas had and the odds heavily stacked against our favor, we managed to work together and defeat what I think was a dragon-level threat! It has to be! A threat that would usually take many Class S heroes to handle was taken care of by the two of us! Isn't it amazing!"

Something stirred in the cyborg's heart. Maybe it was the feeling of victory, to know that Seras may very well have been correct and that Groribas was a dragon-level threat. To know that against such a powerful monster, he should have been completely helpless, but instead, he'd actually managed to defeat it alongside Seras. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the flood of happiness and pride pouring out of Seras that was beginning to rub off on him. Either way, for the first time ever, Genos decided to join in the happiness and curved his lips up slightly. "Yes, I suppose it is."

The vampire's smile only widened across her face, and she felt her heart do multiple more flips. Genos was actually smiling? That was the first time the cyborg ever smiled at her. She'd finally made a small chink in his armor against her. She still had a long way to go, but at least now she knew there was progress being made.

Alas, the female vampire knew that there was still major work to be done on this ship, and her more serious attitude returned. "Now come on. We should try and find our masters to see how they're faring."

"Agreed."

"Are you sure you'll be able to move around with your energy core so depleted?"

"It will unfortunately significantly hinder my speed, but I will still be able to manage."

"Good. Then let's go find the leader of this band of aliens and make him pay for the lives he's ended!" The two Class S heroes began to dash through the holes created by Genos' incineration cannons. What the two heroes hadn't really paid attention to was the fact that Pip Bernadotte had seen their little scene play out. "It looks like Seras Victoria might have eyes for another," thought Pip, "I will have to wait more to know for certain."

* * *

While the battle between two of the lieutenants of the Dark Matter Thieves had just concluded, the battle waging on the ground against the final lieutenant of the Dark Matter Thieves was still raging fiercely. Thanks to the strategy and cooperation of the Class S heroes, they managed to find one of the other marbles, and the third marble was currently in Puri-Puri Prisoner's mouth. The hero clenched his teeth together, and the orb shattered into several tiny shards. With the three remaining heads each formed on Melzargard's body, the head in the middle dissipated and met its death, leaving only two heads remaining.

"And with that, you are only down to two remaining consciousnesses," stated Walter, "I will ensure that my wires wrap themselves around your two marbles and slice them into pieces!"

Melzargard's attention wasn't focused on Walter's derision, however, but instead on the incoming bombardment that was due to strike any moment. "The bombardment, is it nearing arrival?" said one of the heads.

"Yes, the shells should arrive any second now," replied the other head. True to its word, in the ship, the artillery gunner had finished pinpointing the coordinates of the four Class S heroes. "There you guys are. Well, bombs away!" The gunner pressed a button on his control panel, and on the outside of the ship, multiple more bright purple flashes lit up the immense ship. The four Class S heroes noticed this, and to their horror, realized that these shells were headed straight for them. While this wouldn't be a particular problem for Hans, the other three heroes would most certainly be gravely injured and might even perish. Melzargard saw the faces of fear on the four heroes, and his heads smiled.

"This battle is officially concluded," said Melzargard, "The shells will vaporize your bodies until you are nothing but dust in the wind." The sky continued to glow even brighter purple as the shells came closer and closer to their targets, and would have exploded at their target location, but what the other heroes didn't realize was that there was a hero of their own who was here to help. It was the mighty Tornado of Terror who was surveying the devastation and noticed the many shells ready to kill the Class S heroes. Her body began to glow bright green, and she waved her hand in an arrogant manner. Immediately, all the artillery shells stopped their descent and were floating in the air.

Everyone on the battlefield couldn't understand what was going on. "What in god's name is going on?" said Walter.

"It's as if some force is keeping the shells from falling on us," added Hans. It didn't take long for the heroes to realize that Tornado had just saved their hides. The female Class S hero knew this, and made sure the other heroes were aware of this. "Look at all of you. If I wasn't here to save you meatheads, you'd all crushed. Maybe it's be better for you to learn the basics and start over in Class C." The esper levitated several meters into the air, and with another swift movement from her hands, Tatsumaki sent all of the shells flying back at the ship, dealing devastating damage in the process.

Melzargard looked at this sight and grimaced. "Damn it," muttered the Dragon-level lieutenant, "Now I'll have to continue maintaining my defense and wear them down. Hopefully, Geryuganshoop and Groribas can handle things on their own, and Lord Boros won't have to get involved. If that happened, this entire planet might be eradicated."

* * *

Remaining supremely calm and sitting patiently in his throne room, the leader of the Dark Matter Thieves realized that it was finally his time to fight these intruders himself. "They are here." Lord Boros could sense the energies of two of the intruders approaching his throne room; running through the hallway, Alucard and Saitama were getting ready to meet Boros face-to-face and see how much of a punch he packed. Once the two heroes made it to the entrance of Boros' throne room, Saitama jumped up and punched the door down with little effort. The door crashed onto the floor, and large clouds of dust kicked up.

As the dust cleared and Boros got a good look at the two heroes, he now had a better idea of what he was up against. With his energy sensing abilities, Boros could sense the unbelievable aura emanating from the bald hero. It was as if it had no limit. His associate also had a very strong aura, although it did not come even close to the power his bald friend had. Nevertheless, it wasn't anything to scoff at. He now understood how they could have made their way so easily through the ship. Lord Boros stood up from his throne, knowing the time to sit idly by had passed.

While Boros was summing the two heroes up, the two heroes also looked up at Boros and took in everything about him. For Alucard, even though he already knew what the leader of the Dark Matter Thieves looked like, seeing him now only confirmed to him his status and intimidating aura. The King of Vampires was the first of the three in the room to speak. "So you are Lord Boros. I must say, you possess quite some powerful soldiers."

"Interesting..." replied Boros, "I was going to suggest we do introductions, but it appears you already know who I am."

"Yes. By absorbing the blood of your soldiers, I have also gained their memories and knowledge of the ship. But since you do not know who either of us are, my name is Alucard, and I am a monster who has become a hero."

"And my name's Saitama," the bald hero added, "And I'm a hero for- I mean, an official hero."

The Dominator of the Universe smiled upon hearing these names. "Alucard, Saitama."

The Nightwalker continued talking. "I'm also aware of the reason of your arrival: as a traveler who ravaged planets and conquered the cosmos, you ran out of worthy opponents and armies to fight. But then, you heard tale of a warrior who is your match on this planet, and in the hopes of rekindling your passion for battle, you traversed the universe for 20 years until you arrived here."

The leader of the pirate band let out a deep chuckle and began walking down the steps of his throne. "How very well informed you are."

Saitama decided to step in and voice his opinions. "Yea, I heard about this, and I gotta say, it isn't cool. You can't just go around obliterating cities and disrupting people's lives just for fun."

"Can't I?"

The No-Life King felt his stomach turn. "I understand the thrill of battle. The adrenaline coursing through your blood, the endorphins rushing, the exhilaration of ending the lives of your opponents through long-fought battles and stepping on the corpses of your enemies. It's an endless rush, and you kill anyone who goes against you just to feel that rush. I was once like that in my youth."

Lord Boros let out a hum of curiosity. "Oh? I did not expect anyone who could possibly fathom my love of battle."

"Yes. But in the end, it is what I've come to despite most about myself." The Bird of Hermes began pacing towards Lord Boros, and the two rulers both began walking towards each other, until both of them were only inches away from each other. Saitama could tell how intense this situation was getting, the hidden tension bubbling at the surface. "It was because of this love of battle and carnage that I laid waste to men, women and children, burned cities to the ground, and impaled my enemies without hesitation. Only decades later did I come to this realization, and it is what I've come to hate most about not only myself, but other monsters in general. The ones who cause destruction and chaos without purpose and solely for pleasure, those are the worst beings of all." The Dominator of the Universe remained silent, a smile still on his face. Alucard saw the indifference Boros had towards his words, and it caused his body to tremble. "It is why I will end your life right here!"

Alucard drew his pistol from his coat and fired a round at the head of Boros. Alas, the bullet crumpled up on the alien's forehead and fell to the ground. The alien's smile faded, and he looked at the bullet then at Alucard. "Was that supposed to be a weapon?"

"Yes, but against you, it seems it's just a toy. SAITAMA!" The Son of the Dragon turned his head back to Saitama with a hardened look on his face. "I will battle Boros first. It is finally time for me to take on my very own powerful opponent after my time on the sidelines against so many monsters in this world. Do not intervene, no matter what happens."

Saitama forced himself to hold back a sigh, and dismissively waved his hand in the air. He'd been waiting for the chance of an entertaining fight, but he supposed Alucard also earned that chance too. Besides, Saitama could tell this was something Alucard almost desperately needed to do. "Go get'em, tiger."

"Excellent." Alucard chuckled and returned his gaze to Boros. The Dominator didn't seem perturbed by this decision, unlike Saitama. He could use Alucard as a warm-up to prepare his fight against the bald hero. "I shall grant you your request, but in return, I give my own request that you make this mildly entertaining for me."

The King of Vampires let out a deep chuckle, and put his pistol away to raise his fists.

"I will not disappoint."

* * *

 _OOOHHHHH! Was this an intense chapter or what?! The crazy battle against Genos, Seras and Groribas, and the upcoming battle between Boros and Alucard? What will happen? How will it turn out? Will Boros utterly decimate Alucard, or will the Nightwalker manage to hold his own against the Dominator of the Universe? Wait and see in the next chapter of Monstrum Hominis!_


	23. The Impaler vs The Dominator

_It's been about a month now, and the next chapter of Monstrum Hominis has arrived! You finally get to see how the dramatic battle between Alucard and Boros goes down and what might go down during this dramatic showdown! All of your questions will be answered now, so enjoy!_

* * *

"I will not disappoint." Alucard made the first move and performed a right hook at his opponent's face. The extraterrestrial easily dodged the blow, irking Alucard. Alucard followed up and performed a string of jabs, hooks, and crosses while advancing in an attempt to throw Boros off his footing. This did absolutely nothing, and Boros continued to effortlessly dodge these attacks.

Alucard then jumped up, spun himself twice midair, and slammed his foot downward. The alien ruler once again dodged the blow with little effort, and Alucard's kick managed to quake the ground and create a small crater. The monster grunted angrily, and pointed his fingers together, attempting to stab Boros.

"Five seconds in, and you're already starting to disappoint me," mocked Boros, keeping his arms crossed with cardinal confidence, "If this is really the zenith of your physical prowess, then it appears I overestimated you based on your unique supernatural abilities." The leader of the Dark Matter Thieves caught Alucard's hand, and with a light tug, ripped it clean off his body. Alucard's eyes widened in disbelief, while Boros moved his arm back about an inch and lightly punched Alucard in the face. The vampire was utterly defenseless, and he was sent flying back at amazing speeds, crashing into a pillar and lodging himself deep within that pillar.

The Dominator of the Universe let out a deep chuckle, and took a few steps toward Alucard. "Did I put too much power in that love-tap? Are you already dead?"

"Not even close." The King of Vampires looked at Boros with a venemous faze, and got himself back up on his feet. When he made it back to the ground, Boros noticed that his severed hand was being replaced by a new hand, created from a swirling mass of black and red matter. Boros couldn't help but be surprised. "I did not expect to see a regenerator on this planet."

"Correct. I suppose this means you won't have as easy of a time defeating me." Alucard's lips curved up in a sneer, but that sneer faded when he saw that Boros wasn't bothered at all.

Standing on the sideline, Saitama was seeing how easily Boros was dominating Alucard, and knew the way this was going, Alucard wouldn't even lay a finger on the alien. "Yo Alucard. I think it's about time for you to take it up a level." Alucard couldn't help but chuckle at Saitama's humorous suggestion, but knew that the bald hero was right. With the dominator's immunity to bullets and his superior strength, all Alucard would be doing was wasting his stamina if he continued like this.

Alucard lowered his hands and stared down the mighty ruler of the universe. "I can't help but be impressed by your strength. I didn't think I would be forced to increase my power so soon, but you've left me no choice."

"Hmm?" Boros let out a hum of curiosity, and felt a small jolt of excitement in his brain. "By all means: unleash your true power. I am not afraid."

The Nightwalker sadistically laughed and began waving his hands around for what was to come. "Oh, my dear lord, you will be."

The symbols on Alucard's gloves began to glow bright red, and his entire body began to change into the same swirling mass of black and red matter that reformed his hand.

"Now, Boros! Witness the power of the King of Vampires!" Suddenly, several eyes flew from Alucard's direction and past Boros. The alien raised his eyebrow when he saw that Alucard's face was now a singular red eye. Several insects were also appearing on his body, and next, several more eyes opened up in the front of his body. Morphing from his body, a few hellhounds appeared, making very high-pitched and rather disturbing barking noises. This swirling black mass began to approach Boros, sliding on the floor like rising water, until it was surrounding Boros. "It appears you are full of surprises," stated Boros, "But you will need more than tricks if you plan to best me."

From behind Boros, Alucard began to change into his regular, black-suited form, and kicked Boros in the back with a hard right kick. The extraterrestrial didn't know where Alucard would come from, and was unprepared for the monster's attack. While Boros was flying, Alucard sprinted up in front of him, clamped his fists together, and slammed him down to the ground. While Boros was getting up, Alucard arrogantly leered at the alien. "My Release State Level 1 significantly increases my physical might, so this battle will not be as easy as you were led to believe."

The mighty vampire pumped his muscles, allowing the raw strength to flow through him. With the power Boros was displaying thus-far, Alucard knew that he would need to draw upon this form's maximum power in order to properly defeat him. The Nightwalker slugged Boros across the face with a hard right hook, then jumped up to attack with a left spinning kick. Boros was sent face-first into the ground, but he got himself up, spinning his legs like a fan in an elegant and agile fashion, and performed multiple flips. He regained his footing and rushed Alucard: he attacked with multiple jabs, but the vampire was able to block and redirect all of the punches. "Now this is much better!" commented Boros, "You are not the huge weakling I made you out to be!" Alucard retaliated by landing an uppercut on Boros' chin, sending him flying a few meters, and Alucard continued by jumping up and kicking Boros down with both of his legs.

The Dominator of the Universe landed on his hands and flipped backwards to land on his feet. Alucard rushed Boros and elbowed him in the chest. The vampire continued by flexing his lower arm up to strike Boros in the face with the back of his hand. The extraterrestrial threw a right hook at Alucard, but he managed to catch his fist and punched him across the face with his own right hook. Alucard let out a loud grunt and kicked Boros in the chin with a very hard front kick. Boros flew into one of his large pillars, but managed to land feet-first onto the pillar, hanging on tightly to prevent himself from falling. The blue cyclops pushed himself off of the pillar and adjusted his descent so that he'd be falling feet-first. He extended his right foot and attempted to tear apart Alucard with his kick, but the vampire managed to react in-time and raised his elbows to block the kick; the force of his kick managed to create cracks on the floor and create a small burst of air. The King of Vampires used the chance and grabbed the alien's leg: he pulled Boros toward him and punched him directly in the nose. Alucard followed up by slamming Boros into the ground, back-and-forth, then began spinning him around until he released him, sending him flying through the air.

Alucard focused on hardening his fist and matched Boros' velocity. With a forceful shout, the Prince of Darkness bashed Boros in the stomach with his hardened fist. This time, Boros actually let out a groan of pain when the vampire's fist tore through his armor and made solid contact with his stomach. Boros collided with the wall, creating a large hole that spanned a few meters in diameter. Alucard smiled when he saw Boros pinned up against the wall, and jumped back several feet. Saitama spectated this and felt rather confident that Alucard had this in the bag. "There you go, Alucard," said Saitama, "Now you've gotten the edge over him."

"It appears the Dominator of the Universe is on the verge of being dominated." The King of Vampires didn't know how wrong that statement was. Boros pushed himself off of the wall and his high-heeled shoes clopped on the ground. Alucard's confidence was high when he saw his opponent's blank stare (literally) and his bleak expression, but that confidence was threatening to waver when he saw the alien's armor begin to crack. Then, his armor flashed a few times, before it shattered into dozens of blocks, exposing his light blue skin with dark blue crack-shaped markings and a red orb on his chest with purple markings on his stomach and arms. The Dominator of the Universe's throat made deep chuckles, and Alucard no longer felt as confident as he did just seconds ago.

"You are not the only one who puts restraints on your power." Alucard grimaced and felt a heavy pit in his stomach. That was the last thing Alucard wanted to hear. Who knew what kind of power Boros kept hidden away. "But while you limit your power through supernatural means, I limit my power through technological means: my suit of armor. But now that you have destroyed it, my immeasurable, overwhelming power has now been unleashed."

Even though this news had been dramatic and rather grim for what it might signify, Alucard kept his confidence up and refused to show any sign of fear, especially towards someone as loathsome and pathetic as Boros. "You may boast of heightened power, but do not expect me to fall to my knees in fear!"

"Oh my dear count. I have fought many with your confidence, and you are no different. Now bear witness to my unbridled strength!" Boros crossed his arms in front of him and his fingers were all hooked forward. The extraterrestrial grunted, the feeling of his true power surging for the first time in twenty years being intense for him, The purple markings running across his body began to glow bright purple, and then the more drastic changes occurred: starting from his hands, his light blue skin changed to navy blue and spread across all of his body. His spine and the lower back muscles became exposed; the markings that had been bright purple were now brimming with blue energy, and several spikes popped out of many parts of his body.

With all of the physical changes having finished, Boros' pent-up energy was released in the form of several pink vertical blades. Coupled with this was high-pressure winds that kicked up the large rocks and other debris that had built up from the battle. The extraterrestrial smiled with glee, noting that Alucard's lips were actually curving slightly downward, and he was taking a defensive stance. "Perhaps the confidence in your victory has now dissuaded?" shouted Boros. Vlad the Impaler remained silent and maintained his defensive position. Alucard didn't like where this was going: he would have to be on his toes. The leader of the Dark Matter Thieves was ready to have a genuinely thrilling fight for the first time in twenty years. "It is time I show you your place, Alucard!"

* * *

The only remaining lieutenant of the Dark Matter Thieves was still having a difficult time dealing with the four Class S heroes. The two remaining heads of Melzargard yelled with unmitigated fury and unleashed multiple tendrils from his arms. Many of the tendrils targeted Walter, but the vampiric butler performed a high backflip to avoid one of the tendrils. The rest of the tendrils changed course and attempted to cut up Walter, but he made easy work of the tendrils and sliced them apart, although the hero was beginning to have difficulty keeping up with the number of tendrils surrounding him and the speed at which they regrouped.

While Walter was dealing with one group of tendrils, the other group of tendrils tried to target Hans, but unfortunately for the monster, Puri-Puri Prisoner was in the path of these tendrils, and he managed to catch all the tendrils with his arms. The homosexual hero's footing was forced a few inches back, but he managed to stay strong. "Yes, excellent work, Puri-Puri Prisoner!" Hans viewed this as an amazing opportunity to attack while Melzargard's tendrils and attention were all diverted towards the other heroes. So he jumped onto the extraterrestrial's arms, blitzed toward Melzargard's heads while moving so fast it appeared as though there was a bolt of lightning streaking across the alien's arms, and tore through the right section of Melzargard's right head. Sure enough, one of the marbles was in the werewolf's hand, and he crushed it in his fingers, turning the head into dark ash.

Melzargard's remaining brain exploded with fury: next to that elegantly dressed fool, this white-haired man was the most vexatious and troublesome of the four heroes, and Melzargard had enough. The dragon-level monster rolled his arm inside to increase the momentum of his swing, and rolled it out in a quick manner. Hans saw this attack; normally, he would have turned into mist to avoid such a direct attack, but he couldn't expose his true nature. So all the werewolf could do was put his elbows up in defense: Hans felt his elbows crunching like pretzels, and was sent flying through at least four stone buildings. The other three heroes drew gasps; even Walter felt a sense of mortification when he saw his comrade lodged into the stone. Was Hans really... dead?

Melzargard seemed to think so, and laughed in delight. "My my, was he really that frail? It appears I set my standards too high: all I need is to land a single direct hit on each of you, and you'll be finish-" The dragon-level monster's eyes widened, and he felt himself lose all feeling in his body when Walter unleashes dozens, maybe even hundreds, of his monofilament wires to slash Melzargard into hundreds of more pieces. The extraterrestrial's eyes caught a small glimpse of Walter's face covered in darkness, his lips curved very downward. Bang and Puri-Puri Prisoner did not expect such a sudden outburst of hidden rage from Walter, and their mouths gaped open slightly.

Melzargard's body pieces floated in the air, and they began to swirl around in a giant cloud of grey matter. While Melzargard was reforming his body, all that was on his mind were thoughts of rage and murder. "Damn it, damn it! How dare he! That arrogant worm will be my next target!"

"I must admit, I don't think I've ever been struck with such force." If Melzargard had a mouth, he would have gasped: walking in the swirling mass of Melzargard's matter was Hans, calmly pacing to the center of the regeneration area without a single apparent injury. The vampiric hero almost found it hard to believe when he heard his comrade's calm voice: he was okay. He wasn't killed by Melzargard. In Walter's heart, a small drop of affection dripped out of him, and he almost felt his lips involuntarily form a smile. But he immediately stopped himself before anything more dramatic may have followed.

While Walter was keeping his emotions suppressed, Hans was ready to land the finishing blow. What the dragon-level extraterrestrial didn't realize was that Hans had already figured out Melzargard's weakness, and the werewolf began to explain why this was the case. "You employ the strategy of moving your marbles throughout your body to ensure we cannot easily discern its location, but whenever your regeneration begins, your head is the first body part that is regenerated. After seeing you regenerate enough times, I was able to piece this together, and now-"

Melzargard's newly formed eyes widened when they felt Hans grabbing the marble with his fingers. "With only one marble remaining, you have finally lost. Your reign of terror has come to an end."

"NOOOOOOO!" Melzargard screamed with anger and terror before Hans crushed the marble with little effort. Melzargard's matter sunk to the ground, and all that remained was a disgusting pool of grey mass.

Once the other heroes saw the monster's defeat, they all walked up to his remains. Walter's smugness was obvious, and his arms were firmly crossed, but Hans wasn't fooled: Walter wasn't the cold-blooded monster he appeared to be. Deep down, he harbored sentiment for Hans, and that couldn't help but but a small smile on his face.

"Excellent work, Walter," said Hans, "Your wires and their sharpness were precisely what I needed to spot Melzargard's weakness."

"Expect nothing less from Walter C. Dornez," replied Walter.

"And thank you as well, Bang, Puri-Puri Prisoner. Your assistance also gave more openings to attack and split his attention."

"Not a problem," replied Bang, "And I must say, I'm impressed you were able to withstand such a powerful blow without any visible damage."

Hans respectfully bowed his head. "It was indeed powerful, but I managed. However..." Hans stiffened his posture and looked up to the ship. "Now is not the time to celebrate. We still don't know what other invaders might be aboard that ship or if they're going to unleash more artillery rounds. So stay alert."

* * *

In the throne room, Boros blitzed for Alucard, and the King of Vampires was utterly astounded by his newfound speed. To the vampire, he saw only a blur of Boros before he appeared right in front of him and jabbed him in the chest. Alucard was sent flying back, but he dug his feet into the ground to decrease his velocity.

"What?!" shouted Alucard. The Nightwalker looked down at his chest and noticed a huge hole that was being refilled. A single punch was able to do such damage?

Alucard heard Boros prepare to charge him again, and this time, he was prepared enough to raise his elbows in defense. But even with this, the alien's quick and lethal chain of punches managed to tear through his arms and most of his chest.

Alucard put all of his focus into regenerating his body, and shouting furiously, Alucard flexed his hand and attempted to stab Boros, but the extraterrestrial simply sidestepped and dodged the attack. "I will not be deterred! Your blood will stain your throne, and your screams shall echo through this room!"

Alucard went on the offensive and flexed both his hands while stabbing frantically in all areas. The vampire swiped his arms and thrusted with invigoration, determined to land a blow, but the Dominator of the Universe effortlessly and swiftly dodged his opponent's hands while having a smug smile on his face.

"It appears your boasts are exactly what they sounded like: boasts." Boros craned his arm back and landed a devastating punch to Alucard's face.

Saitama squinted his eyes and cringed when he saw Alucard's head explode: it was a vivid recollection of how Saitama had beheaded Alucard before. Judging by how calmly Boros was able to do this, then Saitama could draw a pretty clear picture of what was to come. Did that mean Saitama would be forced to intervene sooner than he thought?

Alucard's dark matter took the form of a head, but Boros wouldn't let Alucard off the hook so easily: Boros threw a right jab with less speed and force at Alucard's chest to leave another hole, but Alucard's supernatural regeneration and abilities were more than Boros had predicted: Alucard caught the alien's fist with his hand, eliciting a gasp and wide-eyed stare. The No-life King kicked Boros back several meters and rushed Boros, his head having fully regenerated.

The vampire followed up and rushed the extraterrestrial. The fists of the two warriors collided, creating bursts of wind, but Alucard's fist was torn into shreds, his blood spilling over the floor. The vampire continued pushing Boros back and struck with his left hand while regenerating his right hand, and once again, Alucard's fist was torn into shreds. Alucard was working overtime to try and regenerate his fists, and when Alucard threw his next punch, his fist didn't even have all five fingers formed.

Boros and Alucard jumped into the air and clashed again, and for the third time, Alucard lost his hand. Alucard grunted while Boros snorted, and the two fighters pushed themselves against the pillars. They propelled themselves towards each other with their fists primed, and when they clashed, not only was Alucard's hand destroyed, but his entire left arm, along with most of his left shoulder and chest, went along with it.

Alucard felt his spirits sink when he saw how grievous his wounds were, while Boros didn't even look he was breaking a sweat. Not only that, but the vampire could tell that Boros was barely trying when he tore his fists apart and blew holes in his body. The Dominator of the Universe put his hands to his hips and disapprovingly shook his head. "If this is all you have to offer, then you are indeed not the warrior the prophecy foretold of. Once I take your head, Saitama's head will be next, and perhaps I might break a sweat doing it."

Fury and frustration boiled in his brain. This was exactly how Alucard felt when facing Saitama: the overwhelming difference in power made him feel like an unworthy insect. All his abilities and all his might were inconsequential in the face of this raw, overwhelming power. Hell, the vampire felt that Boros was worthy enough of giving Saitama a good fight. That's how amazing he was.

The S-class hero frowned: Alucard could see that history was about to repeat itself. However, Alucard would make sure that all the events wouldn't repeat as they did before, and this time, the vampire would be sure to be standing over his opponent's corpse.

Boros furrowed his eyebrow, misunderstanding what Alucard meant when he lowered his hands and hunched his chest down. Likewise, Saitama didn't know what had gotten into Alucard. "Alucard! What're you doing?" shouted the bald hero.

"I have reached the limit of this release state. It is time I move onto my final level." Saitama quickly put the pieces together, and felt his nerves slightly jolt. Boros, however, was still completely in the dark. "What are you two concealing from me?"

The King of Vampires was silent for a few moments, letting the mood of tension sink in. From the hero's throat, several deep chuckles came. These were the chuckles of a dark, malevolent opponent who had something very big he was about to deal to his unlucky opponent.

"Unfortunately for you, there is still one final transformation I have not revealed." This caused Boros' heart to do a small flip. Alucard still had more power he hadn't shown. "Is that so? This isn't another boast, is it?"

Alucard chuckled once again and derisively shook his head. "My dear lord, if you knew what I was about to unleash, I'm quite certain I wouldn't be as arrogant as you are now. Not only is my physical prowess increased, but my vampiric abilities are pushed to their peak.

"Now watch and stand in awe as you watch your death come into his finest form." But before he started, Alucard turned to Saitama. "Get to higher ground so you aren't caught in the crossfire."

"Got it." Saitama knew how this song-and-dance went, and jumped up next to one of the pillars. He then punched a hole through the pillar, and landed in this newly-formed hole.

"Now then..." Alucard made several circular motions with his hands while the symbols on his gloves glowed again. The Son of the Dragon initiated the override sequence once again, and from his mouth, uttered the phrase that gave him his power.

"When hope is gone, undo this lock, and send me forth on a moonlit walk. Release Restraint Level... Zero."

Alarms went off in the extraterrestrial's mind. Boros could instantly tell a darker, more malevolent energy was arriving. But it wasn't just Alucard. He didn't understand what this was, but somehow, he was sensing the energies of multiple beings, but they were all coming from Alucard. What in the hell had this vampire awakened?

Alucard's humanoid form morphed into some sort of red, intangible floating mass. This floating mass began to expand in size, widening until it touched pillars on both sides of the throne room. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Boros was waiting in anticipation, and Alucard, or whatever Alucard had become, was doing nothing.

Then it happened. The rivers of blood from all the death and destruction was no longer metaphorical: flowing from the black mass, an ocean of blood spilled out. Saitama's stomach churned, unpleasant memories coming back to him. "Glad I'm up here," the hero muttered.

This ocean of blood spread throughout the entire room, until the room became filled with about two inches of blood. This blood seeped over Boros' feet until it reached his shins, but the warrior didn't even bother to leave.

"Is this supposed to scare me," Boros said, "I've bathed in the blood of millions of soldiers: the hot fluid soothes my feet."

Things immediately became more physical when a bright beam of energy was shot from the black mass and landed on Boros. While the mighty lord was uninjured, he was still feeling uneasy. This feeling was correctly placed: from the dark mass, Alucard reappeared and extended his hand into the air. He then slashed his hand down, causing the dark mass to swirl; next, he extended both of his arms out, lifted them above his head, and with a mighty downward thrust, the dark mass took the forms of the dominator's own crew. About five hundred members of the Dark Matter Thieves were standing against their leader. The alien realized that all of his subordinates were covered in blood, their eyes completely devoid of any emotion. Not only were they all somehow still alive, but they were also not themselves. "What is this..."

But there was still someone missing. Boros detected the rising energy of someone very familiar. "Geryuganshoop..." Alucard flicked his hand through the air, and a large portion of the dark mass appeared at Alucard's right side. The alien who was once Boros' right hand man was now Alucard's right hand man. To his left, some sort of devilish canine with red eyes and large teeth took form and growled angrily at Boros.

Despite seeing all of his crew having been enslaved by Alucard, forever lost to him, Boros thought relatively little of it. "So you have turned my own men against me..."

"That is correct," Alucard explained, "Blood is the currency of all living creatures, where the memories and the soul reside. To drain the blood of someone is to drain their very essence. And now, they are all my slaves."

All of the alien crew members aimed their guns at their former leader, and fired countless rounds. Boros gasped and immediately took evasive maneuvers. Although he could handle rounds from these rifles without difficulty, the sheer number of guns pointed at him would be too much for even him to handle. So he jumped onto the pillars, and the gunfire quickly followed him.

Boros swirled around the base of the pillar, hoping to misdirect and avoid the gunfire, and continued jumping across the room and on the pillars. Although some gunshots were able to scrape him, Boros was still practically undamaged. Alas, the warrior knew he couldn't continue dodging: he had to go into action.

Boros hung sideways from the pillar momentarily, then pushes himself toward the army of extraterrestrials. The lasers all pointed at Boros, but it wasn't enough: the dominator primed his fist to target the center of the army and disperse them all across the room. It should've worked like a charm, if it wasn't for...

Boros felt his heart come to a stop: instead of creating a huge hole in the ground and sending all of his crew flying, he was stopped midair. The dominator growled, knowing full-well what this was.

Alucard saw the frustration on Boros' face and cackled. "You were not expecting this, were you?" Geryuganshoop's tentacle was pointed at Boros, and he was surrounded by a light aura. The blue octopus swatted his tentacle to the side, and sent Geryuganshoop crashing into his the stairs of his throne.

"Now restrain him!" Geryuganshoop followed his orders and increased his psychic energy output to its maximum level. Boros instantly felt the pressure pushing down on him, sinking him down a few feet.

"The rest of you! Unleash your fury!" With Boros being subdued like this, the crew held nothing back and showered him with blasts of energy. Alucard beamed with pride: this was precisely what he'd intended with his Release Level Zero. While the increase in raw power was a bonus, the main purpose was to unleash the crew, primarily Geryuganshoop. With the esper's unbelievable psychic output, it would leave Boros vulnerable, and with the hundreds upon hundreds of guns firing at the Dominator, even someone as powerful as him would eventually be worn down.

The blue cyclops was beginning to falter: Geryuganshoop's Telekinetic Gravitational Wave proving to be rather difficult to overpower, but he probably would've been able to manage if it wasn't for the hundreds of freaking lasers pelting him. Although they felt like tiny stings, the stings were eventually adding up, and they started to dig deeper into his skin as many seconds passed by.

The taste of victory was in his mouth. "Your death is now!" Alucard sprinted toward Boros while he was disoriented and damaged, and all of his slaves immediately stopped once they saw this. Ready to live up to his former title, Vlad of Tepes dug his fingers into Boros' chest. The cyclops widened his eye, looking on in a state of shock when he saw Alucard sadistically smiling at him, then looked down to see Alucard's arm deep in his chest. The final blow had been dealt. It seemed hopeless at first, but through perseverance and his familiars, Alucard was able to come out on top.

Alucard lifted his left foot up and placed it on the alien's chest, where he forcefully kicked Boros up, throwing him into his throne room.

Saitama saw all of this unfold and liked where it had gone. "Nice Alucard! You did it!"

"Yes, the vicious cycle of death and destruction caused by this foe has now finally ended." Alucard confidently crossed his arms and asked Boros, "Do you have any parting words?"

The Son of the Dragon expected some sort of final thoughts of reflection or state of disbelief and fear, but none of this was coming from Boros. Immediately, Alucard could tell something wasn't right.

Instead of losing consciousness and slipping into death, the blue cyclops simply stood up and walked to the edge of the stairs with a smile on his face. "I must admit, I am impressed. Your unique supernatural abilities and army of undead is something I've never encountered. If I were any normal opponent, this battle would've already been over. Unfortunately for you, I am not a normal opponent."

Saitama and Alucard could already tell this was foreshadowing something big. "You see, Alucard-" The vampire noticed the hole in Boros' chest beginning to morph, and what happened next was the absolute last thing he wanted to see: the wound completely healed. Alucard staggered back and felt his skin tingle.

"The outcome of this battle has already been decided. You see, my species lived in a hostile, deadly environment on our home planet, forcing us to evolve and develop the ultimate regenerative ability to overcome the harsh environment. I, in particular, am blessed with unbelievable regenerative abilities, godly physical prowess, and latent energy you cannot possibly hope to fathom. Like you, I can regrow any part of my body by focusing my energy on it. While you may have regeneration yourself, I still far surpass you in physical strength, and eventually your regenerative abilities will surely be overworked. I, on the other hand, have ample energy to draw upon..."

The markings on his body glowed an even brighter blue, and Boros was now surrounded with a bright blue aura cracking with electricity. Alucard felt his body tense up in apprehension. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Not only do I use my energy to heal myself, but I can draw upon its destructive potential and channel it into a physical force, like so!" The eye on Boros' chest unleashed a giant blue surge of energy.

Alucard gasped and immediately raised his elbows while ducking his head to dodge the blow. Geryuganshoop took defensive measures and instinctively created a psychic barrier to protect all of them. Alas, the power of this energy blast was too great, and Geryuganshoop's barrier was shattered. All of the crew were instantly vaporized, including Geryuganshoop, whose body could not handle the power of Boros' energy once his psychic barrier was broken.

"Alucard!" Saitama looked on with worry and was about to jump down and help him, but stopped himself once he saw Alucard standing, albeit with a limp and his chest leaning forward. The No-Life King felt his life was already over. He'd severely underestimated Boros: he never expected anyone to possess such amazing energy projection abilities, and coupled with his regeneration, it was practically hopeless. But that didn't mean that Alucard would just sit on his ass like a dog and accept this! No, he would keep on fighting! After all, he'd been focusing on his training and had become stronger. As shown by all the humans of this world, the path to true power was through training, and with Alucard's training, he still had a chance.

"Do not think you have defeated me!" shouted Alucard, "If you believe I will simply bow in defeat, then you're sorely mistaken!"

Alucard pumped his muscles to increase his strength to its maximum potential, and sprinted towards Boros. The vampire made sure not to let rage cloud his mind, and tried to use more advanced fighting based on what he'd learned from Bang. He began with many swift jabs to the alien's chest and stomach. Boros was able to dodge and block all of these punches. The alien scoffed and swiftly jabbed Alucard in the chest. The vampire felt the air leave his lungs, and he coughed up blood. "Look at you..."

Alucard did the best he could and continued fighting, redirecting and blocking whatever attacks he could react in-time to, which were very few. And while this was happening, the damage he was being given was regenerating, yet little-by-little, it was starting to slow down.

About thirty seconds of this constant beating passed, and Alucard was a complete mess. All over his body, there was bleeding, bruises, holes in him, and even some broken bones. Alucard's breathing was labored, and he was actually on one knee. Boros, on the other hand, was completely fine, staring down at his opponent.

"How sad." Boros held Alucard up by the hair, then punched him gruesomely in the face, sending him sprawling across the floor. The Nightwalker was now desperately trying to get back on his feet, but the damage was too great. His regeneration was nearing its limit, and most of his energy was completely drained.

"Does this finally mean you surrender? Can I go fight the man I actually came here to fight instead of the weakling in front of me?"

The bald hero couldn't take it anymore. "ALUCARD! GET UP!" The vampire drew a faint gasp, and looked up to see Saitama with his serious face and his fist clenched towards him. "I didn't choose to stand on the sidelines just to see you give up like this!"

"You wanna know the real secret behind my power, how I became so strong? It wasn't just doing some lame-ass pushups and situps! It was doing those pushups and sit ups when 99% of my body was ready to give up! It was the passion to keep on going, to not give in and surrender to your limitations! Remember when you fought me! When you dug deep and refused to lose! Find that willpower inside you! Remember what you said: if you're going to die, it's going to be at the hand of a human! You can't let yourself be killed at the hands of a monster!"

"Yes..." It was coming once again. Alucard found the energy to push himself back up on his feet, although his head was looking down onto the ground. The King of Vampires remembered this feeling. He'd remembered how powerful he'd felt, but had somehow forgotten this along the way. Alucard couldn't give up now: not only did he owe it to himself to ensure he'd never be defeated by a monster, but he owed it to Saitama to keep on fighting, to pay him back for sparing his life and befriending him. He owed it to Seras to stay alive for her sake, and he owed it to humanity to make up for his sins and protect it. And that meant stopping monsters like this. That meant throwing away whatever freaking doubts and fears he had about his power and just straight-up saying to hell with it. It was giving up that killed people, and it was giving up that would kill Alucard now.

"GRRRRAAAAHHHHHH!" Alucard's body grew a bright red aura, and some small streams of red energy fizzled up from the vampire. The symbols on his hands glowed brightly yet again, and newfound passion burst forth. The Dominator of the Universe was bewildered at first, surprised at the spike in energy he felt, but then that fear turned into excitement. "Yes, yes! Come, fight me and continue your quest to vanquish me! Give me more thrill!"

Alucard did as Boros wished, and disappeared from the alien's sight. The Dominator was unprepared for a hard punch to his cheek from behind. The force of this blow created several bursts of wind, and the alien was sent crashing through three pillars. Boros quickly snapped out of it and attempted to kick Alucard with a left side kick. The monster prepared for this and ducked just before Boros was about to hit him. The alien gasped while the monster smiled, and he then kicked Boros in the back at just the right time. Boros crashed into the stairs, and Alucard rushed him, delivering a lethal barrage of punches. While Boros was being pummeled like this, he increased his power and created a small burst of energy, enough to force the vampire back. Boros then punched Alucard, although the monster retaliated with his own fist, and the two fists collided, the winds gusting in the process. This time, Alucard managed to hold his own, and during the struggle, he extended his leg high and kicked Boros in the side of the head, sending Boros into another pillar. Alucard jumped up with both of his legs extended, and he kicked Boros hard in the gut, causing the cyclops to recoil in pain.

Saitama couldn't help but beam with pride. "Yea! That's how you do it, Alucard!"

"The tide of the battle has turned," Alucard shouted. Boros and Alucard engaged in an exchange of punches while running up the pillar. Pink and red mixed together in a glorious fashion, and both warriors appeared evenly matched. They zigzagged around the pillar, going upward until they reached the roof of the room. Saitama realized this and quickly followed them up to continue watching the battle.

In seconds, Alucard and Boros broke through the dozens of meters of ceiling above them and reached the top of the ship. Once they were at the top of the ship, they continued to exchange fists while moving in the air like wisps of red and pink. Once Saitama rejoined them, he could see the unbelievable power both of them had.

But as much as he'd like to say they were evenly matched, Saitama could still tell... Tell that Boros had the upper hand. "No, it can't be," muttered the bald hero. "Even with such a big power-up? How can Alucard still be lagging?"

While in the air, Boros kicked Alucard down with a right side-kick, and the vampire lifted his elbow in defense. "That's the way, Alucard!" Boros shouted, "You are stronger than I gave you credit for! Of all the beings in the cosmos I've fought, only you've survived for this long!" The pink aura around Boros grew brighter, and electricity spewed out of the alien's body.

Boros rushed down and struck Alucard from multiple directions. The vampire was able to block and dodge these attacks, but he could see that the conqueror was growing stronger and faster. Alucard couldn't believe it: how much more power did Boros had hidden away? The demonic hero took evasive maneuvers and bounded across the roof in an attempt to put some distance between himself and Boros, but to his shock, the alien was able to easily catch up to him and punched him down onto the ground.

The Dominator of the Universe jumped up onto a high ledge on the roof of the ship. Boros could already see that there was still a large gap between himself and Alucard, and he wanted to move on to a more challenging opponent. "You have reached your limit!" shouted Boros, "It is time I end this!" The blue cyclops slowly raised his voice while simultaneously raising his energy. Once again, the eye on his chest began to glow, and a ball of darker blue energy was being formed in front of it. "Prepare for one of my ultimate moves!"

"As you wish!" replied Alucard, who was not willing to back down, partly because of the adrenaline rushing through him and his pride refusing to give up now of all times. "I will make quick work of your ultimate move! Saitama!" Alucard noticed Saitama watching him with a look of concern. "Do not try and interfere! Understand?"

Saitama nervously clenched his fists and tapped his feet. "I understand." Even though Saitama had his doubts, he still knew that this was Alucard's fight, and if he intervened, the vampire would never forgive him.

"Good!" The immortal vampire likewise began to raise his voice, and the red aura around him expanded slightly. Both warriors were preparing to finish this battle.

"ULTIMATE DOMINATION BLAST!" Lord Boros unleashed another monstrously sized blast of energy, and the vampire bucked himself in preparation. Alucard held his hands out and focused all of his energy into blocking the blast. Upon touching the vampire's hands, enormous streams of lightning burst forth. Small gusts of wind swirled Alucard's hair, and the ground was beginning to tremble.

Nosferatu was putting up a good fight, but the vampire was slowly being pushed back. Nevertheless, his will did not waver, and he continued to pour every ounce of passion into pushing back this blast. Alucard wouldn't allow this fight to end in defeat. He couldn't allow it to end in defeat.

But try as he might, push as he would, struggle he did, at that moment, the Dominator of the Universe would keep his title.

"IT'S OVER!" The blue cyclops increased the energy he poured into the blast, and the vampire could resist no longer. In less than a second, the blue blast enveloped his hands and soon his entire body.

"ALUCARD!"

* * *

 _Monstrum Hominis Encyclopedia_

 _\- In Alucard's Level 0 release, not only does he have complete control over his familiars, but his physical prowess is increased by about 20%._

 _\- The Negative State: This is a state of power Alucard takes when pushed to his very limit and filled with the will to fight and dominate. Once Level 0 has been unleashed, Alucard goes further down, unlocking the maximum power of his vampiric body when beaten to near-death. In this state, his strength, speed, reflexes and coordination dramatically increases, and he enters the league of Golden Sperm and Orochi, who've both been stated to have around equal raw power based on author statements by Murata._

 _\- Boros was only fighting half-seriously against Alucard in his Negative State._

 _So there it is! Try as he might, Alucard was simply not strong enough to fend off against Boros. Even after being put through near-death many more times per-usual, the increased power through his training with Bang, and entering his most powerful state, the King of Vampires was simply not strong enough to defeat the Dominator of the Universe. Tune in next chapter to see what's become of Alucard and how he will cope with the crushing defeat!_


End file.
